Medical Malpractice

When medical professionals deviate from the standard of care and cause harm, patients have the right to pursue medical malpractice claims.

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional — a physician, surgeon, nurse, anesthesiologist, hospital, or other provider — deviates from the accepted standard of care in their field and that deviation causes injury, worsened condition, or death. These cases are among the most complex in personal injury law because they require expert medical testimony to establish both what the proper standard of care required and how the defendant deviated from it, concepts that lay jurors cannot independently evaluate. Common forms of medical malpractice include: surgical errors (wrong site surgery, foreign objects left in the body, nerve or organ damage during procedure); misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer, heart attack, or serious infection; medication errors (wrong drug, wrong dose, dangerous drug interactions); birth injuries including cerebral palsy and brachial plexus injury from delivery complications; and anesthesia errors causing brain damage or death. Medical malpractice cases face procedural hurdles beyond those of ordinary negligence cases: most states require a certificate of merit from a qualified medical expert before a malpractice lawsuit can be filed; statutes of limitations are often shorter (1–2 years) than for standard personal injury cases; and damages caps are imposed in many states limiting non-economic or total recovery. These obstacles make retaining an attorney with specific medical malpractice experience — who maintains relationships with medical expert witnesses in the relevant specialty — essential to pursuing these complex cases successfully.

For informational purposes only. Not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney.

Common Causes

• •Surgical error including wrong-site surgery, instrument retention, and nerve damage
• •Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer, heart attack, stroke, or sepsis
• •Medication error — wrong drug, wrong dose, or failure to check contraindications
• •Anesthesia error causing awareness during surgery, overdose, or hypoxic brain injury
• •Birth injury from improper monitoring, delayed C-section, or improper delivery techniques

Who Can Be Sued

Liability in a medical malpractice case may extend beyond just the primary at-fault party. Identifying all potentially liable defendants is one of the most important functions of an experienced personal injury attorney.

1. 1The treating physician or surgeon who deviated from the standard of care
2. 2The hospital or healthcare system under vicarious or direct corporate negligence theories
3. 3An anesthesiologist or CRNA for anesthesia errors
4. 4A radiologist for misread imaging that caused delayed diagnosis

Key Legal Facts