If you’ve been hurt while receiving medical care, you might wonder whether what happened was an unfortunate mistake or something more serious. You deserve answers if a diagnosis was missed, the wrong medication was prescribed, or a procedure did not go as planned.
There are two legal terms that come up in these situations: medical negligence and medical malpractice.
While they sound similar and involve substandard care, they are not the same. So, what is the difference between medical negligence and malpractice? Here’s what you need to know about holding the right people accountable and getting the compensation you deserve.
Let’s look at the medical negligence vs medical malpractice cases.
What Is Medical Negligence?
According to the National Library of Medicine, over 400,000 hospitalized patients have experienced some preventable harm each year. But how do you know whether it is medical negligence or malpractice?
Medical negligence happens when a healthcare provider, like a doctor, nurse, technician, or a hospital, makes a mistake that a reasonably careful professional would not have made under the same circumstances.
This is not about bad intentions. In fact, most cases of negligence involve human error. This might be a nurse who misreads a label and gives a patient the wrong dose of medication or a doctor who forgets to follow up on lab results because of a busy schedule. These are oversights, not acts of cruelty or recklessness. However, they can still cause real harm.
If you want to pursue a negligence case, a patient or their family would need to prove:
- There was a duty of care between the provider and the patient.
- That duty was breached by failing to act as a reasonably competent professional would.
- That breach caused an injury.
- The patient suffered actual damages, such as physical pain, financial loss, or emotional distress.
Negligence often feels like something that went wrong without malice. However, if a provider’s carelessness has hurt you, you may still have the right to seek justice.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Now that you know about negligence, what is malpractice? This goes a step beyond negligence.
It still involves a failure to meet the standard of care. There is an element that something more serious happened, such as the provider knew, or should have known, that they were acting in a dangerous or irresponsible way and did it anyway.
That might mean a surgeon performing an operation while fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or a doctor ignoring obvious symptoms of a serious condition. This can even cover a healthcare provider refusing to run tests because they assume you’re exaggerating your symptoms.
In a malpractice case, you still need to show a breach of duty, causation, and damages. There’s another step; you also need to show that the provider acted in a way that no reasonable professional would have under the same circumstances. That makes malpractice more difficult to prove and more serious in the eyes of the law.
Since malpractice claims involve a higher burden of proof, they require:
- Expert testimony to explain how the provider’s actions fell below the standard of care.
- Careful documentation of both the mistake and the harm it caused.
In short, all malpractice is negligence, but not all negligence rises to the level of malpractice.
Does This Matter?
You might think that all lawsuits are the same, but that is not true. Knowing whether your situation involves malpractice or negligence is not just a technicality; this can determine:
- What kind of claim you can file
- How much time you have to file it
- What kind of evidence you’ll need
- How complex and expensive the case may be
For example, these claims may require more legal steps and cost more to pursue. However, they also tend to involve more severe injuries and, potentially, higher compensation.
For that reason, you will want to speak with a lawyer who understands both negligence and malpractice cases. With their assistance, they can help you understand what happened, how the law applies, and what your options are moving forward.
Whether you’re dealing with negligence or malpractice, one thing is certain: you deserve safe, competent, and compassionate care. If a healthcare provider lets you down, you have the right to ask questions and fight for accountability.
At Owen, Owen, & Smith, PLLC, we are ready to help. Our team will evaluate whether you have a case and advocate for the recovery and justice you deserve. Find out how we can assist with your potential claim.
