Personal Injury Law

Medical Malpractice And Elder Abuse By Sacramento Doctors, Part 5 of 11

By Moseley Collins, Esq.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this elder abuse/medical malpractice case and its proceedings.)

CAUSATION MUST BE PROVEN TO A REASONABLE MEDICAL PROBABILITY

One of the essential elements of plaintiff's claim is causation. Assuming She is able to meet his burden of proving there was a breach of the standard of care, or elder abuse, she must then show any such breach was a cause of his injuries. As the court said in Budd v. Nixen (1971) 6 Cal.3d 195,200:

If the allegedly negligent conduct does not cause damage, it generates no cause of action in tort. The mere breach of a professional duty, causing only nominal damages, speculative harm, or the threat of future harm--not yet realized--does not suffice to create a cause of action for negligence.

In the context of a personal injury action, causation must be proven within a reasonable medical probability. The reason for this was explained by the court in Brown v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. (1985) 163 C.A.3d 396, 402-403:

The law is well settled that in a personal injury action causation must be proven within a reasonable medical probability based upon competent expert testimony. Mere possibility alone is insufficient to establish a prima facie case. [citations omitted] That there is a distinction between a reasonable medical "probability" and a medical "possibility" needs little discussion. There can be many possible "causes," indeed, an infinite number of circumstances which can produce an injury or disease. A possible cause only becomes probable when, in the absence of other reasonable causal explanations, it becomes more likely than not that the injury was a result of its action. This is the outer limit of inference upon which an issue may be submitted to the jury.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on April 12, 2010 (boomark / email).