The first step of the project is to locate a medical malpractice case that interests you. The case can involve malpractice or negligence claims against any type of healthcare provider-for example, a doctor, nurse, dentist, or chiropractor or an institutional provider such as a hospital, nursing home, or rehab facility. The case you choose must be from a published decision of the court (rather than a case reported in a secondary source, such as a newspaper or internet article).
Published decisions are primary sources of law that create precedent for other courts to follow in similar cases. For more information about judicial decisions, and for help on where to find them, visit the Library of Congress Law Library.
Review these malpractice decisions to get familiar with the structure and format of a typical court decision:
Deane v. Mount Sinai Hospital
Carpentier v. North Shore University Hospital
These cases were found by searching the New York Official Reports website using the terms "medical malpractice" and "wrongful death."
It is easier to find medical malpractice cases in state court as opposed to federal court, so you may want to start with cases in your local state court. As you get further into your research, you will discover that some court opinions are short, and some are much longer and contain significantly more detail. For this assignment, it is important to choose a case that not only interests you but also contains a detailed description of the facts and circumstances so you have enough information for your analysis. The two examples provided above are good samples of the kind of opinion you should try to find. When researching cases, make sure the one you ultimately select contains enough information about the case to address each of the bullet points below. Your paper should contain three parts:
Part I: Introduction
In this part, describe your case, including the parties, the facts, and the claims asserted.
Part II: Analysis
This part is your analysis and should make up the majority of your paper. This section should be written in the IRAC format. Click here for a description of the IRAC model. Your analysis should discuss the evidence on both sides of the case and the defenses asserted by the defendant healthcare provider. This section should also identify and analyze the ethical theories involved and how they did or did not impact the decision.
Part III: Variation
In this part, discuss how and why the outcome would have changed if the facts or evidence had been different. For example, if the plaintiff won the case, discuss a defense that, if available to the defendant, would have changed the outcome (for example, if the defendant could prove the plaintiff filed his claim after the statute of limitations had expired).