Any viable claim for compensation must meet a multi-pronged test when proving liability for Toledo medical malpractice injuries.
This test arises from the legal theory of negligence, the four prongs of which are (1) duty of care, (2) breach of duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages.
A duty of care is established through the initiation of a doctor-patient relationship.
Physicians owe their patients a legal obligation to apply the accepted standard of care when it comes to decisions about their treatment.
Therefore, if a physician violates that duty of care—whether by their action or inaction—and that violation causes a patient to suffer injuries, they could be held legally liable for the resulting damages.
An acceptable standard of care is that which a physician with the same general level of experience, education, and knowledge would adhere to if presented with a patient in a similar set of circumstances.
So, if a physician’s action or failure to act did not comport with what the average physician in a similar situation would have done, this could lead to a malpractice case, as long as the patient suffered harm and, subsequently, damages.