medical malpractice

medical malpractice

Law & medicine Negligent conduct or unreasonable lack of skill in the performance of a medical task, on the part of a physician or a party–eg, a health care facility in which that act or task occurs Statistics, US In a 5-yr period, 48% of surgeons and surgical specialists, 34% of obstetricians-anesthesiologists and 15% of other physicians had malpractice claims; 85% of all payments were made on behalf of 3% of policy holders. See Abandonment, Assault and battery, Blood shield laws, Borrowed servant doctrine, Causation, Compensatory damages, Confidentiality, Consent, Contributory neglect/negligence, Countersuit, Damages, Defensive medicine, 'Difficult Pt.', DNR, Emergency doctrine law, Emergency psychiatric committment, Emotional distress, Expert witness, Frivolous lawsuit, Liability, Good Samaritan laws, Informed consent, Jehovah's Witness, Medical record, Misdiagnosis, Negligence, Patient-physician relationship, Punitive damages, Quinlan case, Referral and consultation, Res ipsa loquitur, Respondeat superior, Standard of care, Statute of limitations, Therapeutic privilege doctrine, Tort, Wrongful birth.