Medical Malpractice: When You Actually Have a Case

Every medical malpractice claim must prove four elements: (1) a doctor-patient relationship existed, (2) the provider breached the standard of care, (3) the breach caused an injury, and (4) the injury produced quantifiable damages. Missing any element ends the case.

The 'standard of care' is what a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have done under the circumstances. A bad outcome is not malpractice — many serious illnesses progress despite appropriate care, and many surgeries carry known risks even when performed correctly.

Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer, heart attack, or stroke. Surgical errors including wrong-site or wrong-patient surgery, retained instruments, or perforated organs. Birth injuries such as hypoxic brain injury, brachial plexus injury, or shoulder dystocia. Medication errors. Anesthesia errors. Hospital-acquired infections. Failure to treat or follow up.

Cases involving large permanent damages — paraplegia, brain damage, death, loss of a major organ — are far more likely to be pursued than cases with smaller injuries, because of the high cost of investigating and litigating a malpractice claim.

Most states require a qualified medical expert to review the case and certify that the standard of care was breached before a lawsuit can be filed. These expert reviews cost thousands of dollars, which is one reason attorneys are selective about the cases they accept.

Be patient when an attorney's office takes weeks to review your records. They are usually waiting for a busy physician expert to read your chart and provide a written opinion.

Medical malpractice deadlines are short — often two years from the date the injury was or should have been discovered, with a hard outer limit (statute of repose) of four to seven years from the event. Cases involving minors or foreign objects left in the body sometimes have longer deadlines.

If you suspect malpractice, do not wait. Get records immediately and consult an attorney even if you are unsure whether you have a case.

Submit your case through National Legal Connect to be matched with medical malpractice attorneys in your state. Bring a timeline of treatment, the names of every provider, and any records or imaging you have.