What is medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a form of negligence resulting from poor medical care, this form of neglect is dealt with in a civil court rather than a criminal court.

As with all civil negligence cases, medical malpractices cases need proof in three areas in order to be successful.

• The doctor failed in his duty of care for the patient. This means that the doctor failed to do something that a competent doctor would do in a similar situation. It also means that the doctor did not do something that a competent doctor would do in the same set of circumstances.
• As a result of this failure, the patient was harmed and that the harm caused was to a certain extent expected in these circumstances.
• The damages sought are reasonable compensation for the harm caused.

On average nearly 100,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical malpractice. Many of these deaths could be avoided by doctors maintaining the basics of medical care, such as ensuring good hygiene. Nobody expects a doctor to the be the best in the world, but we all expect our doctors to be at least competent and able to act in accordance with the body of medical opinion.

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability