REASON #1: Most Families of Deceased Patients Do Not Request Autopsies
In an Iowa medical malpractice case, the person suing must prove that a medical professional’s error was a cause of a patient’s injury or death. In cases where the patient dies because of the medical error, cause of death is often best proved by an autopsy.
People are receiving medical care in the first place because they are already sick or injured. It is the burden of the person bringing the medical malpractice lawsuit to prove that the patient died because of the medical error – not the underlying health condition that caused them to need treatment. An autopsy can rule out the patient’s underlying health condition as a cause of death.
Often, failing to request an autopsy after a suspicious death while receiving medical care can allow the wrongdoer to blame the death on everything except the botched medical care.
Iowa juries do not like to blame doctors if there are other plausible options for the cause of a patient’s death. An autopsy can often settle the cause of death question once and for all.
To find out the rest of the Eight Reasons Why Most Iowa Medical Malpractice Victims Never Get Compensated, use the form on this page to download the entire Law Guide to Iowa Medical Malpractice Claims.
