Medical malpractice

Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury to a patient. The standards and regulations for medical malpractice differ slightly worldwide.

Definition

Medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient. Medical malpractice is a specific subset of tort law that deals with professional negligence.

Causes

The most common causes of medical malpractice include:

• Misdiagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Failure to treat
• Surgical errors
• Birth injury
• Medical product liability
• Infections related to treatment
• Pharmacological errors
• Lack of informed consent

Legal aspects

In the legal context, medical malpractice claims can involve a wide variety of situations, treatments, and results. The laws regarding medical malpractice are designed to protect patients' rights to compensation if they are injured as the result of negligence. However, malpractice suits are often complex and costly to win.

See also

• Patient safety
• Medical error
• Medical law
• Patient abuse
• Health care

References

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