Medical Malpractice Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms that come up most often in US medical malpractice cases.
- Standard of care
- What a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would do under similar circumstances. Breach of the standard of care is the heart of a malpractice claim.
- Breach
- A departure from the standard of care.
- Causation
- Proof that the breach actually caused the injury — not merely preceded it. Often the hardest element to prove.
- Damages
- Real, measurable harm: medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, or death.
- Statute of limitations
- State law setting the deadline by which a lawsuit must be filed. Often runs from injury or discovery.
- Statute of repose
- An absolute outer time limit running from the negligent act, regardless of when the harm was discovered.
- Certificate of merit
- A pre-suit affidavit by a qualified expert stating the claim has merit. Required in many states.
- Pre-suit notice
- Formal notice of intent to sue, required in some states before a malpractice complaint may be filed.
- Damage cap
- A statutory ceiling — usually on non-economic damages — limiting recovery in malpractice cases.
- Wrongful death
- A statutory civil action brought by a personal representative or beneficiaries when negligence caused a death.
- Survival action
- A claim brought on behalf of the decedent's estate for harm suffered before death.
- Vicarious liability
- Liability of an employer (e.g., a hospital) for the negligence of an employee acting in the scope of employment.
- Apparent agency
- Doctrine making a hospital liable for a non-employee provider the hospital held out as part of its staff.
- Discovery rule
- Doctrine that starts the limitations clock when the patient discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury and its connection to medical care.
- Continuous treatment
- Doctrine that tolls the limitations period while the patient is still receiving care from the same provider for the same condition.
- Contingency fee
- Fee arrangement in which the attorney is paid a percentage of recovery and only if the case is successful.
- EMTALA
- Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act — requires hospital ERs to screen, stabilize, and properly transfer patients with emergency medical conditions.
- Never event
- A clearly preventable medical error universally considered unacceptable (e.g., wrong-site surgery, retained foreign object).
- HIE
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy — brain injury from oxygen deprivation, frequently a peripartum injury at issue in birth-injury claims.
Keep reading
- Start with what is medical malpractice — the four legal elements explained.
- Learn how medical malpractice lawsuits work, including pre-suit notice and certificates of merit.
- Look up your state's medical malpractice statute of limitations and statute of repose.
- Read about medical malpractice compensation and damage caps.
- Browse types of medical malpractice claims or the full medical malpractice FAQ.
- See our editorial standards for how these definitions are sourced and reviewed.