Medical Malpractice is a medical professional's failure to exercise the degree of care and skill that a physician or surgeon of the same medical specialty would use under similar circumstances.

Medical malpractice cases involve different standards and rules than a normal personal injury case. A plaintiff must prove the doctor, hospital, pharmacist and/or nurse breached the "standard of care." This is more difficult and costly than proving mere negligence in a normal personal injury case. Proof of medical malpractice requires the plaintiff to hire experts to testify and explain how the medical provider erred and how this error led to the plaintiff's injury. Due to the cost of proving a medical malpractice case, a potential plaintiff usually has to have a very serious injury before an attorney can afford to accept this type of case.

Medical malpractice is currently the third leading cause of death in the United States according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. According to a study done by Virginia's Bureau of Insurance, there were 4,034 closed medical malpractice claims in Virginia for the three years from 2002 through 2004. Approximately 25% (1,003) of those claims led to a recovery by the plaintiff, while 75% (3,031) of those cases were closed without the plaintiff receiving anything. If you have any questions about a potential medical malpractice case, please contact our firm.