What is medical malpractice?

Any medical professional such as a nurse, medical doctor, surgeon, or dentist is expected to provide health care that meets the accepted standards for that profession and the patient’s specific circumstances. Treatment which deviates from the accepted standard of care according to similar healthcare professionals and that results in injury to the patient is called medical malpractice. In order to recover compensation in a subsequent lawsuit, however, one must be able to show that the healthcare professional provided subpar care and that their negligence resulted in an economic or non-economic loss of some kind. It is not enough to simply show that a doctor has made a mistake.