Credentialing & Peer Review Legal Insider

A case that will soon be heard by the Oregon Supreme Court may decide whether patients in the state can seek damages in medical malpractice lawsuits based on physicians’ actions that reduce the possibility of a better outcome, known as the “loss of chance” theory.

Traditionally, in medical malpractice cases, plaintiffs must meet a causation standard by showing that their injuries were more likely than not the result of the physicians’ actions, rather than a preexisting condition, in order to recover damages. So, for example, if a terminally ill patient with less than a 50% chance of survival undergoes a procedure that was performed negligently and then dies, his or her estate would be unable to recover damages under traditional law because it would be difficult to prove that the physician’s actions were the ultimate cause of injury or death.

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