Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: Complete Guide (2026)

What Is a Malpractice Lawsuit?

Medical malpractice lawsuits are civil actions that patients can bring against healthcare professionals when their negligence causes harm.

There are certain elements you must meet in a medical malpractice claim to prove negligence. They include:

• Establishing that the provider owed you a duty of care
• Showing that the provider breached their duty of care
• Proving that the defendant’s actions are the proximate cause of your harm
• Demonstrating that you suffered compensable losses

It’s important to note that not every patient who suffers harm does so because of a medical professional’s conduct. Some effects may not be the result of negligence but of the inherent danger of certain procedures. If you’re having open-heart surgery, for example, you’ll face many risks that have nothing to do with negligence.

In order to have a civil medical malpractice lawsuit, the patient must show that another healthcare provider of reasonable skill and knowledge wouldn’t have made the same error.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice claims can result from various types of negligent conduct. Here are a few common examples:

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Healthcare providers who fail to diagnose a patient in a timely manner or diagnose them with the wrong condition can cause significant harm.

Diagnostic errors can result in patients receiving medications that make conditions worse or create other health complications. With diseases for which fast treatment impacts survival rates, like cancer, a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis can endanger the patient’s life.

Failure to Treat

Failure to treat is different from failure to diagnose. It involves getting the right diagnosis but not providing appropriate treatment. For example, a careless medical professional might forget to prescribe a crucial medication.

Birth Injuries

Birth injuries put the lives of both mothers and babies at risk. Providers who neglect to monitor vital signs, use excessive force during labor, or fail to notice signs of fetal distress can all cause birth injuries, from bone fractures to cerebral palsy.

Any of these errors can be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. With a birth injury lawyer assisting you, you can seek compensation for the harm your child suffered.

Surgical Malpractice

When a surgeon operates on the wrong body part or leaves instruments inside the patient, they commit surgical malpractice. Legal remedies are available for such unacceptable oversights.

Anesthesia Errors

If an anesthetist doesn’t monitor a patient’s vitals correctly during surgery, they put them at risk of fatal complications. Care providers who make errors related to dosage are also guilty of malpractice.

A qualified medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand the type of claim you should pursue.

Patient Abandonment

Patient abandonment is a somewhat uncommon type of medical malpractice. It happens when a provider who has an established relationship with a patient suddenly terminates the relationship. They provide little to no notice and don’t help the patient find a new medical professional.

Crucially, this situation only qualifies as patient abandonment if there was no justifiable excuse. For example, if you were seeing a therapist with their own practice and the therapist suddenly died, you wouldn’t have a case for patient abandonment.

How Does a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Work?

To initiate the process of suing for malpractice, many states (like Michigan, for example) require the plaintiff to send a Notice of Intent that informs everyone named in the lawsuit of their intent to sue. The defendants must respond to the Notice of Intent within a certain period, which varies by state.

Once you receive a response, you’ll have to wait while your lawyer attempts to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company. They’ll present evidence that you were harmed by the healthcare provider’s actions and attempt to secure a fair settlement. Filing a complaint with the state medical board alongside the lawsuit can also highlight the seriousness of the negligence, potentially strengthening your position during negotiations.

In some cases, medical malpractice overlaps with other forms of neglect, such as in nursing home environments. A nursing home abuse lawyer can play a big role in helping families pursue justice when medical negligence leads to harm in long-term care. These cases often involve complex issues like improper medication management or failure to provide necessary care, highlighting the importance of experienced legal guidance.

In some instances, the at-fault party’s insurer will agree to what you’re asking for, and you can quickly receive compensation. In other cases, however, it will be necessary to litigate.

Malpractice Lawsuit Statute of Limitations

The term “statute of limitations” refers to a timeline you must abide by when filing a legal claim. Statutes of limitations exist to ensure that claims are brought in a timely manner while there’s still viable evidence available.

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits differs from state to state. However, they usually begin when you discover the injury or should reasonably have discovered it. If you file a claim after the deadline, your case will be dismissed.

Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice Claims

The most serious malpractice cases involve a loved one's death. As a close family member, you may be able to begin a wrongful death lawsuit to hold the defendant liable. It’s important to understand whether you or your loved one’s personal representative can start this kind of claim, since this varies from one state to the next.

A wrongful death claim is almost identical to a personal injury one. The main difference is that the plaintiff can’t pursue the legal action themselves. You will still need to demonstrate that the medical professional owed your loved one a duty of care and that they breached it by not offering the accepted standard of treatment.

The statute of limitations can also vary when dealing with a wrongful death claim. Speaking with an attorney can give you a good idea of the amount of time you may have.

Damages Available in Malpractice Lawsuits

You can seek both economic and non-economic damages as part of a medical malpractice claim. Economic damages cover financial losses like medical expenses and lost wages. If you can’t return to work in the same capacity as before or at all, you can claim loss of earning potential as well.

Non-economic damages, meanwhile, compensate you for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life. Following the wrongful death of a loved one as a result of medical malpractice, you can also claim loss of consortium.

Calculating non-economic damages isn’t always as straightforward as calculating economic damages. Often, insurers and courts will choose a number between 1.5 and five, with higher numbers being reserved for more serious injuries. They then multiply your total economic damages by that number to determine your non-economic damages.

Settlement vs. Trial in Medical Malpractice Cases

When you begin a medical malpractice case, the goal is to obtain a fair settlement. The settlement process is faster because it doesn't put you at the mercy of a court’s docket, and it’s also less expensive. This means that if you win, lawyer fees won’t eat up your award.

Unlike a trial, settlements are confidential. This is important if you don’t want to alert others to any winnings you receive. There is also less stress involved, since you won’t have to go to court and testify.

Obtaining a fair personal injury settlement requires having an experienced attorney by your side because the negotiations can be difficult. You will be dealing with medical insurers who will do everything possible to minimize your claim.

But what about a trial? Trials are longer processes that require going through discovery, which helps both parties gather information so that you can better prepare for trial. This can take months, especially if the defendant is less than cooperative.

Trials do typically offer the chance to obtain higher compensation, but the outcome is not certain. The costs are more significant, too, so they will impact how much you actually receive.

Trials are also public. This may be beneficial when it comes to holding the liable parties accountable, but you may not prefer to have your winnings announced. The process can also be stressful since you will likely need to testify and be cross-examined by the defendant’s attorneys.

It’s important to note that in medical malpractice trials, as with other kinds of civil trials, the burden of proof is different from that of criminal trials in these key ways:

• Criminal trials require the defendant’s guilt to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
• In a civil case, the defendant must show that the plaintiff is more likely to be liable than not.

The standard used in civil cases is called the “preponderance of evidence” standard. It is typically less stringent than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases.

Understanding Damage Caps in Medical Malpractice Cases

Although it is generally possible to recover more compensation at trial than through a settlement, many states place “caps,” or limits, on non-economic damages plaintiffs may recover in medical malpractice cases. Many states that cap damages in medical malpractice cases do not cap damages in general personal injury cases.

You might wonder why many states limit damages in malpractice cases. Here are some key reasons.

Lower Healthcare Costs

When malpractice damages are capped, doctors won’t owe as much in malpractice insurance premiums. They also might not feel pressured to practice “defensive medicine” by ordering unnecessary or excessive tests to protect themselves from lawsuits. Both of these factors can help keep healthcare costs down.

More Productive Negotiations

When non-economic damages are capped, patients and their lawyers have a better idea of the compensation they may recover. Because parameters are clearer, both sides may have an easier time agreeing on a settlement amount.

Better Healthcare Access

When doctors don’t have to fear astronomical malpractice judgments, they may be more inclined to practice. More practicing doctors translates to improved healthcare access, especially in low-income areas.

Find an Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you’ve been harmed due to a medical professional's negligence, you may be eligible to file a claim for compensation. To do so, however, you’ll need to work with a skilled medical malpractice lawyer.

Malpractice lawsuits are particularly complicated because they involve complex medical procedures and legal concepts like the standard of care. Your lawyer can bring in medical experts to offer authoritative testimonies.

The ConsumerShield team is proud to provide dependable legal information, including free case evaluations. We can put you in contact with a trusted lawyer in your area so you can get the assistance you need. Fill out our contact form to get started.