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MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

Medical negligence actions (also called medical malpractice actions) in Arizona are brought pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-561, et seq.  According to “medical negligence 1, definition of medical negligence; causation; fault; plaintiff’s burden of proof” explains how the fault of a health care provider is determined in Arizona:

Medical negligence is the failure to comply with the applicable standard of care.  To comply with the applicable standard of care, a [health care provider] must exercise that degree of care, skill, and learning that would be expected under similar circumstances of a reasonable prudent [health care provider] within the state.

Fault is medical negligence that was a cause of the injury to [name of plaintiff].  Before you can find [the health care provider] at fault, you must find that [the health care provider’s] negligence was a cause of the injury to [name of plaintiff].  Negligence causes an injury if it helps produce the injury, and if the injury would not have happened without the negligence.  

On the claim of fault for medical negligence, [name of plaintiff] has the burden of proving:  

1. [Health care provider] was negligent;

2. [Health care provider’s] negligence was a cause of the injury to [name of plaintiff]; and

3. [Name of plaintiff’s] damages.  

At this time, there are both federal and Arizona plans to limit what juries are permitted to award as damages for medical negligence (“caps on damages”).  The Arizona Constitution prevents lawmakers from restricting the award of damages by juries.  Another challenge to the Arizona Constitution (as has been unsuccessfully attempted repeatedly in the past) is likely to occur in 2006.