What is Medical Malpractice?

The legal definition of medical malpractice is “a legal cause of action that presents itself when a medical professional does not meet the industry standards in their profession and, ultimately, causes injury to an individual/patient.”

To further explain, medical malpractice occurs when any health care provider does not comply with the standard of care in their overall treatment of a patient. The standard of care is defined as what a typical medical care provider would or would not have done if presented with the same or a very similar scenario. Medical malpractice is the result of a health care provider that has been found to be negligent in his or her care. 

Should there be a belief that a medical professional has acted negligently causing injury or damage to a patient then typically a malpractice claim can and should be filed. When filing a medical malpractice claim, however, it is important that people understand that the entire legal process in medical malpractice cases can be incredibly expensive, time-consuming on everyone’s part, create a great deal of stress, and, as statistics tell us, have an extraordinarily high likelihood of failure. 

Statistics further reveal that, within the United States each year, the errors of medical professionals and health care providers are accountable for the deaths of nearly 200,000 patients and that the majority of those malpractice claims brought in these cases have resulted in no payments to either the injured patient or their surviving family members. 
With that said, most medical malpractice attorneys, especially those highly trained, educated and experienced in these types of lawsuits, will not even engage in representation of a client unless they have had all the records with regard to the procedures, injuries and damages thoroughly reviewed by an expert who has determined that a malpractice lawsuit is justified. 

Individuals who feel they have a justifiable medical malpractice claim should begin their legal journey by consulting with an attorney who specializes in the medical malpractice field. The attorney will collect all the pertinent information and records needed as well as conduct personal interviews with the injured party, as well as family members and friends. All of these preliminary steps are necessary in order for an attorney to determine if a case truly warrants the filing of a malpractice claim. 


If you are thinking about filing a claim be certain that you have not passed the deadline for filing such a lawsuit. These deadlines are referred to as 'the statutes of limitation’ and they vary from state to state which means the very first step when contemplating a medical malpractice claim is to confirm that the statute of limitations in your case have not run out. At Popick & Rutman we completely understand the importance of your case and work with due diligence to get things done.