Causation
After you establish the at-fault party’s breach of duty, you will need to show that you suffered an injury or harm as a result of his or her negligence. If the medical professional had upheld his or her duty of care, you would not have sustained the injury or worsening illness.
For example, say that you visit the doctor with common symptoms of a heart attack: chest pain, shortness of breath, and a racing heartbeat. To rule out the possibility of this life-threatening condition, a reasonably prudent and trained physician would order certain diagnostic tests, like an electrocardiogram.
However, your physician fails to order these tests and instead diagnoses you with acid reflux. You go home and later collapse. When you wake up in the hospital, you learn that you suffered a heart attack and sustained brain damage due to oxygen loss.
If the doctor you had visited ordered the proper diagnostic tests, your condition would have been caught earlier and you would have received treatment before collapsing. Because the doctor failed to diagnose your condition, you sustained a severe injury—thus allowing you to establish causation.
Damages
Finally, you will need to prove that you sustained damages due to the at-fault physician’s negligence. In Missouri, you can recover compensation for the economic, or financial, losses you sustained, as well as your non-economic pain and suffering.
Examples of damages in Missouri medical malpractice claims include the following.
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages during your recovery period
- Loss of future earnings and benefits
- Disability accommodations, such as mobility equipment
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Depression and anxiety
- Loss of quality of life
