What Counts as Medical Malpractice? Examples and Crucial Elements

It’s likely that at some point in your life, a medical professional will make a mistake in your care. It might be a tiny mistake that you barely notice. Or, it might cost you dearly. If and when you find yourself in such a situation, you will probably ask: does this count as medical malpractice? Do I have the right to sue? For a small mistake, you might not care to pursue any retribution. But if it caused you financial or physical damage, you’ll probably want justice.

Capital Injury Law is dedicated to serving your legal needs for personal injury claims in the Tacoma and Olympia, WA area. In this blog post, we’ll define medical malpractice and distinguish it from medical errors or negligence. Then we’ll explore the crucial components you’ll need for a successful medical malpractice claim.

Defining Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can be generally understood as a medical professional’s misconduct that harms the patient. It can involve a doctor, a nurse, a medical facility, or any number of other healthcare professionals or organizations. Harm to the patient might include physical harm, financial expense, emotional stress, or even wrongful death. 

Defining the misconduct portion of medical malpractice, however, is a little more complicated. To understand malpractice, you must also understand medical negligence and medical errors.

Comparing Medical Malpractice, Negligence, and Medical Errors

Any mistake or misconduct a healthcare professional or facility makes in the care of patients is called a medical error. All medical malpractice claims involve a medical error, but not all medical errors count as malpractice.

Some medical errors may instead qualify as medical negligence. There are two ways of distinguishing medical negligence from malpractice.

By intention and awareness: If the provider made a mistake completely unintentionally, unaware of their error, it would probably be considered negligence. Conversely, if they knowingly engaged in risky or unorthodox behavior, it would be medical malpractice. By this standard, accidentally writing the wrong medication dosage is negligence, while performing surgery without the proper qualifications is malpractice.

By severity and resulting harm: Sometimes, negligence and malpractice are instead distinguished by whether harm resulted. An error that caused no harm to the patient would be negligence, while the same error that did cause harm would be malpractice.

The Critical Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim

Depending on which understanding of medical malpractice versus negligence you use, both might be grounds for an insurance claim or lawsuit. Most people think of medical malpractice when they think of such a claim, and that is more often the term used, so we will use it for the rest of the blog post.

A medical malpractice claim requires more than proving a medical error was made. There are four essential elements you must prove: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care and Breach of Duty 

First, you must prove that the healthcare professional owed a duty of care to you. Doctors have a legal duty to treat patients according to the “medical standard of care.” The medical standard of care essentially means that if you see two different neurologists, you should receive approximately the same level of care from each, which would be considered appropriate by the general medical community.

Typically, you’ll need a medical expert witness to determine what the appropriate standard of care was in your scenario, therefore demonstrating whether or not your provider met it. In essence, you must show that there was a patient-provider relationship and that the provider’s care was below the generally accepted standard for the situation.

Causation: Their Actions Caused You Harm

To sue a healthcare provider for malpractice, you must prove that their error directly caused your damages. Let’s say you were injured during surgery when a surgeon was clumsy. At the same time, another doctor in the room used the wrong tool while assisting, but this did not cause you any harm. You would not be able to sue the second doctor. They made a mistake, but it did not directly cause you harm. 

Damages: You Were Significantly Harmed 

Similar to causation, a successful medical malpractice claim requires you to prove that you sustained significant damages deserving compensation. A provider might make a notable error in their care without actually causing you any harm. You probably cannot receive any compensation in this case. However, if their mistake–no matter how accidental–caused you physical, financial, or emotional damage, you may be eligible for compensation.

Examples of Medical Malpractice

As you can see, medical malpractice is much more complicated than a doctor making a mistake. You must also consider whether their mistake breached their duty of care, whether it caused you harm, and whether your damages are significant enough to warrant compensation.

Here are some common examples of medical malpractice that might justify a claim.

Unintentional errors:

• Writing the incorrect dosage
• A clumsy mistake during surgery
• A misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
• Accidentally performing the wrong surgery or in the wrong area

Intentional misconduct:

• Performing a treatment without the appropriate tests or safety checks
• Performing surgery without the proper qualifications
• Carelessness such as inadequate monitoring or failure to follow up

Schedule a Consultation for Medical Malpractice Today

Medical malpractice claims are rarely simple. You will likely need extensive medical records, a good understanding of the relevant laws, expert witnesses, and more. A personal injury lawyer can help you with all these things. Our job is to build a strong case with the right evidence and testimonies, negotiate for a fair settlement on your behalf, and represent you in court if necessary.

If you have been harmed by a medical error, you might be deserving of compensation. Contact Capital Injury Law for a free consultation and case evaluation today.