Medical Malpractice Law

Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury to the patient. Standards and regulations for medical malpractice vary by country and jurisdiction within countries. Medical professionals are required to maintain professional liability insurance to offset the risk and costs of lawsuits based on medical malpractice.

Medical Malpractice Law in the United States

Physicians and other health care professionals may be held liable for their failure to exercise the ordinary care a reasonably prudent qualified person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances. Negligence is the predominant theory of liability concerning allegations of medical malpractice, making this type of litigation part of tort law.

A person who alleges negligent medical malpractice must prove four elements: (1) a duty of care was owed by the physician; (2) the physician violated the applicable standard of care; (3) the person suffered a compensable injury; and (4) the injury was caused in fact and proximately caused by the substandard conduct. The burden of proving these elements is on the plaintiff in a malpractice lawsuit.

Many states have enacted damage award limits that are intended to limit the amount of recovery for noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering, and punitive damages. Plaintiffs attorneys have contested these changes, arguing that medical malpractice awards account for only one percent of the total yearly national health care expenditures. In addition, they note that malpractice claims are the only effective tool to identify incompetent physicians because the medical profession has refused to aggressively discipline its members.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Attorneys for Medical Lawsuit Claim

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