Understanding the Definition of “Medical Malpractice”

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Medical malpractice is an unfortunate reality in the healthcare system. When patients put their trust in doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, they expect competent, safe care. But sometimes, healthcare professionals make mistakes or act negligently, causing harm to patients. In fact, studies show that healthcare providers make avoidable mistakes in 3% to 15% of all medical interventions. Understanding what constitutes medical malpractice, its legal basis, and how cases work is important for any healthcare consumer.

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What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice takes place when a healthcare specialist or provider deviates from the accepted standard of care in their treatment of a patient, resulting in harm, injury, or death. Evidence suggests that one in every three providers is sued for malpractice during their care. For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, a few key criteria must be met:

A duty was owed – There was a doctor-patient or nurse-patient relationship where the provider owed a duty of care to the patient.
That duty was breached – The provider’s care fell below the accepted standard of care and did not follow medical protocols.
The breach caused injury – The patient was injured or harmed directly due to the substandard medical care.
Damages occurred – Quantifiable economic and non-economic losses resulted, such as additional lost income, medical bills, or pain and suffering.

Some examples of potential medical malpractice could include misdiagnosing a condition, surgical errors, and mistakes during operations, birth injuries to infants, medication errors like incorrect prescriptions, inadequate infection control, or simply not monitoring patients appropriately. If we take misdiagnosis as an example, approximately 12 million Americans each year are misdiagnosed by their healthcare provider.

The True Cost of Medical Malpractice in the US

Medical malpractice lawsuits can be extremely costly in the United States. In 2025, New York reported the highest total payouts for medical malpractice, amounting to $372.39 million from 659 claims. Florida followed with $203.85 million across 670 claims. High malpractice payouts like these contribute to rising healthcare costs in America. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the cost of medical liability added $55.6 billion to the nation’s healthcare costs in 2008 alone. This equals about 2.4% of total healthcare spending that year. Medical malpractice insurance premiums, defensive medicine practices, and payouts from claims all contribute to this high-cost burden on the US healthcare system.

The Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Process in Chicago

In 2023 alone, there were approximately 11,400 medical malpractice cases filed in the US. Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Zayed Law Offices recommend following a multi-step litigation process to seek justice if an injured patient believes they have experienced medical malpractice:

Consult with an attorney near you to evaluate the potential case.
The discovery phase is where attorneys obtain medical records and evidence.
Securing expert testimony to establish if standards of care were breached.
Settlement negotiations to avoid trial.
If there is no settlement, there will be a trial where a judge or jury decides if malpractice occurred.
The trial outcome may be a defense verdict or a damages award paid by insurance.

Sadly, medical errors do transpire, whether due to faulty systems, overworked staff, or individual negligence. Lives damaged by malpractice deserve proper restitution. Understanding the definition of medical malpractice, how these legal cases work, and seeking experienced counsel is imperative.