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Determining Whether Medical Causation Is Established

BY H. Thomas Watson
January 28, 2010

To prove medical malpractice liability, the plaintiff must establish through competent expert testimony that, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, his or her injury was caused by the defendant's negligence. To have evidentiary weight, an expert's medical causation opinion must be supported by an adequate foundation demonstrating why the expert is reasonably certain that probable cause exists. What does this standard of proof mean, and how can we gain a better understanding of statistical analysis help to determine when the standard for proving medical causation has, and has not, been met?

'Medical Certainty' Versus 'Probable Causation'

Medical malpractice is a form of professional negligence. To recover damages for medical malpractice, causation in some jurisdictions must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence; i.e., the plaintiff must present sufficient evidence from which the jury can find there was a “reasonable medical probability” (at least a 51% chance), and that the defendant's breach of his or her duty of care caused the damages the plaintiff seeks to recover. See, e.g., Nelson v. County of Los Angeles (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 783, 792, fn. 7.

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