Medical malpractice is a form of negligence where an injury results from a medical professional or medical facility’s failure to exercise adequate care, skill or diligence in performing a duty. Whether the duty of care has been met depends upon the standard of care for that professional or facility within their community.  

Whether or not malpractice has occurred hinges on the question of whether the medical professional or facility has followed the accepted practices of similar professionals or facilities located in the same geographic area. For medical specialists, the standard of care is determined by the standard of proper medical practice within that specialty in the same geographic area.

 

Medicine is not an exact science, and medical malpractice does not occur every time medical treatment is unsuccessful. Medical malpractice occurs when the medical provider fails to provide proper medical care according to the accepted standards within the community. In order to establish a case for medical malpractice, the plaintiff must show:

1. The health care provider failed to exercise a duty of care; and

2. The failure to exercise a duty of care resulted in the injury.