What Is the Difference Between Medical Malpractice and Negligence?
The terms negligence and medical malpractice are often used interchangeably when people are talking about claims involving poor medical care, but they are different legal terms that have distinct meanings. While there is some overlap, it is important to understand the difference and know how this difference may affect your personal injury claim.
If you have suffered harm due to mistreatment by a medical care provider, you could have a medical malpractice claim. Let us talk about your options—call Rocky McElhaney Law Firm today.
What is negligence?
Negligence is a general legal term that is used in a wide range of personal injury claims, from car accidents and slip and fall accidents to dog bites and defective products. Someone is considered negligent if they fail to act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances, and as a result, someone is injured. For example, in a dog bite case, the court might determine that a reasonably prudent person would keep their dog leashed on a walk. If someone does not and their dog bites another person as a result, they would be considered negligent.
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a far more narrow term that defines what type of medical care and treatment violates the standard of care so significantly that it may entitle the patient to compensation. The standard is not what a reasonably prudent person would do, because medical professionals are held to a higher standard. The standard is what a reasonably competent healthcare professional in the same specialty and with the same amount of experience would do. Consider a surgical case involving amputation of the wrong limb. The court would likely determine that a competent surgeon would verify that they were operating on the correct limb before beginning an operation, which would mean the surgeon who operated on the wrong limb committed medical malpractice.
Similarities and differences between medical malpractice and regular negligence
There are some similarities and differences that make it easier to understand what negligence is and what medical malpractice is. Both types of claims have four basic elements to prove: duty of care, breach of duty of care, causation, and damages. In a medical malpractice claim, that just means proving that the doctor was in charge of the patient’s care and that they failed to meet the standard of care for their specialty. But in both cases, you need to prove that the negligence/malpractice caused injuries and that the victim had measurable losses as a result.
One key difference is the need for expert medical testimony. Even if your medical malpractice lawyer agrees to take on your case, you often still need a medical expert to sign off on a letter or affidavit saying that you experienced malpractice and what errors their care provider made. Without this affidavit, the case typically cannot proceed.
Why this distinction matters
This distinction is important because of the type of proof you need to provide to back up your claim. In Tennessee, if you have a claim against a medical care provider, you have to meet the burden of proof outlined by the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act (TN Code § 29-26-121 (2024)). If you approach the case as if it were any other personal injury claim, you will fall short of the court’s requirements, and your case will not proceed.
Deadlines are also different for medical malpractice cases and other types of personal injury claims in some states. In Tennessee, both types of cases usually have a one-year statute of limitations, but that is not the case in every state.
Your attorney’s approach to your case will also vary, depending on whether it is a standard personal injury claim or a more specialized medical malpractice case. In a medical malpractice case, you will likely need to bring in expert witnesses and meet other procedural requirements for the court to hear your case. Although, in rare cases where negligence is obvious to a layperson, Tennessee’s ‘common knowledge’ exception may allow you to proceed without expert testimony.
Legal gray areas
There are some cases that fall into the gray area between negligence and medical malpractice. Tennessee courts typically look at whether the cause of injury has a substantial relationship to the victim’s medical care, treatment, or professional services.
For example, if a patient is in a bed with bed rails and those bed rails fall out after a patient is in bed, what type of claim would a patient file if they suffered injuries? Would it be medical malpractice because the nurse should have verified that the bed rails were safe, or would it be a regular claim of negligence or product liability against the manufacturer of the bed rails?
Injuries that occur inside hospitals but not as a result of medical care can also be a gray area that stumps patients. For example, a patient slips on a freshly mopped floor that does not have a wet floor sign—is that general negligence or medical malpractice? It would likely be negligence, as it does not involve medical skill or judgment. Now assume that the patient falls not because of a wet floor, but because a nurse does not use a fall risk protocol. That would likely be medical malpractice because the injury was a result of failure to follow medical safety protocols.
How your claim is defined and who is ultimately responsible for your injuries can affect how much compensation you receive, how your case plays out, and ultimately whether you receive compensation. This is why it is important to discuss your case with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Start your claim with Rocky McElhaney Law Firm
At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, we are committed to helping you hold reckless medical care providers accountable. Let us talk about your case now—call us today or contact us online to get started.
