Actual agency exists where a principal has genuinely authorized another to act on its behalf, creating vicarious liability.

An affidavit of merit is a sworn statement from a qualified expert, required in many states, confirming that a professional negligence claim has a...

Apparent agency holds a hospital liable for an independent contractor physician's negligence when the patient reasonably believed the physician was a...

Medical battery is treatment performed without any consent, distinct from inadequate disclosure of risks.

A birth injury claim alleges that negligent obstetric or neonatal care caused harm to the mother or infant during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.

The borrowed servant doctrine shifts responsibility for an employee to a temporary supervising party who controls the work.

Breach of the standard of care is the failure to exercise the skill and knowledge a reasonably competent practitioner would apply.

The captain of the ship doctrine holds a surgeon responsible for the negligence of everyone in the operating room.

Chart alteration is modification of a medical record after the fact, which severely damages credibility when discovered.

A clinical practice guideline is a professional recommendation for managing a condition, offered as evidence of the standard of care.

The continuous treatment doctrine tolls limitations while the provider continues treating the condition at issue.

Corporate negligence is a hospital's or facility's direct liability for its own failures in credentialing, staffing, policies, or oversight.

A medical malpractice damages cap is a statutory limit on recoverable damages in malpractice claims, usually applied to non-economic losses.

Delayed diagnosis claims allege that a condition was identified later than competent care would have permitted.

Differential diagnosis in malpractice is the clinical process of considering and ruling out possible conditions.

An EHR audit trail is the system log showing who accessed, entered, or modified a patient's electronic chart and exactly when.

An expert affidavit requirement conditions filing a malpractice claim on a qualified expert attesting the claim has merit.

Failure to diagnose is a malpractice claim alleging a provider did not identify a condition that a competent practitioner would have detected.

Fetal monitoring claims allege failure to recognize or respond to fetal heart rate patterns indicating distress.

The foreign object exception extends the limitations period for claims involving items left inside a patient.

Hospital liability encompasses direct institutional negligence and vicarious liability for the acts of staff and agents.

Incident report privilege protects internal reports of adverse events from discovery under state statutes.

An independent contractor physician practices at a facility without being its employee, limiting hospital vicarious liability.

Informed consent is the requirement that a provider disclose material risks and alternatives so a patient can make a knowing decision about treatment.

A lack of informed consent claim alleges the provider failed to disclose material risks before treatment.

The locality rule measures the standard of care against practice in the defendant's community rather than nationally.

Loss of chance is a doctrine allowing recovery when negligence reduced a patient's likelihood of a better outcome, even if that outcome was already unlikely.

A medical chronology in malpractice organizes the treatment record into a timeline supporting standard of care analysis.

Medical malpractice is a claim that a healthcare provider's departure from the accepted standard of care caused injury to a patient.

Medical records review is the systematic analysis of treatment records to establish the sequence of care, identify departures from the standard, and test...

A medical review panel evaluates malpractice claims before suit under state statutory schemes.

A medication error is a preventable mistake in prescribing, dispensing, or administering a drug that causes or risks patient harm.

Minor tolling in medical claims extends the filing period for injuries to children, subject to state-specific caps.

Misdiagnosis claims allege that a provider identified the wrong condition, delaying correct treatment or causing unnecessary care.

The national standard of care measures a provider against practitioners nationally rather than in the local community.

Negligent credentialing is a claim that a hospital failed to properly investigate or monitor a physician before granting or renewing privileges.

A never event is a serious preventable occurrence that should not happen in properly functioning care delivery.

Nursing documentation records assessments, interventions, and patient responses, forming the most frequent chart entries.

Patient safety work product is information prepared for reporting to a patient safety organization, protected by federal statute.

A periodic payment statute permits or requires future damages in a medical judgment to be paid over time rather than as a lump sum.

A physician order directs specific care, establishing what treatment was authorized and when.

Pre-suit notice is a statutory requirement in many states that a malpractice claimant notify providers before filing, often triggering an investigation...

A pre-suit screening panel reviews a medical claim before litigation, producing a non-binding opinion on merit.

Qualified immunity for providers shields certain healthcare workers from liability under defined statutory conditions.

Res ipsa loquitur in medical cases permits an inference of negligence from an outcome that does not ordinarily occur without it.

A retained foreign object is an item left inside a patient after surgery, a classic res ipsa scenario.

A root cause analysis is a structured investigation into the systemic causes of an adverse event.

A same specialty requirement conditions expert testimony on the witness practicing in the defendant's field.

The standard of care is the level of skill and diligence a reasonably competent practitioner would exercise under similar circumstances.

Standard of care testimony establishes what a reasonably competent practitioner would have done in the circumstances.

Medical malpractice limitations periods are frequently shorter than general tort periods and carry specific accrual rules.

Surgical error claims allege negligence in the performance of an operative procedure.

Vicarious liability in medicine imputes a provider's negligence to a hospital, group, or supervising physician.

A wrongful birth claim is brought by parents alleging negligence deprived them of the choice to avoid or terminate a pregnancy.

A wrongful life claim is brought on behalf of a child alleging they should not have been born, and is rejected in most states.