How can I prove that my doctor committed malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a form of civil lawsuit that is based on personal injury or tort law rules. Medical malpractice lawsuits are based on the principle that a doctor owes a duty of care to the patients that he treats. In order to determine whether a doctor is liable for medical malpractice, it must be determined whether he breached his duty of care. It also must be determined whether that breach of duty caused injury to the plaintiff. 

In order to prove that your doctor committed malpractice, you need to prove two essential things:

• That the standard of care your doctor provided fell below the standard of care a reasonable doctor in his field would have provided. In other words, if no doctor would have acted as he did, or no doctor would have made the omission he did, then the doctor may have acted below the standard of care and may be viewed as negligent
• That the negligence was the but for or direct cause of some type of injury that would not have occurred if he had been more careful.

In order to prove this, you will usually need to get clear and convincing evidence of the doctor's negligence. This generally comes in the form of an expert witness (or many expert witnesses) helping the court to understand what a reasonable doctor would have done and showing the court why your doctor's behavior was unreasonably careless. Proof of injuries - in the form of medical records and details about your injuries and the pain you endured- are also important.

The best thing to do in instances of malpractice, or suspected malpractice, is to schedule a consultation with a lawyer who can let you know what type of evidence is required to prove your case.