Medical Negligence vs Malpractice: What’s the Difference?

When you entrust your health to a medical professional, you expect to receive an acceptable standard of care. Unfortunately, healthcare providers sometimes fail to meet this obligation, seriously harming patients. Understanding the distinction between medical negligence vs malpractice is essential if you or a loved one suffered injuries due to substandard treatment. But, what is the difference between medical negligence vs malpractice?

At Mueller Schmidt Mulholland & Cooling, our dedicated attorneys have over 56 years of experience advocating for medical negligence and malpractice victims across Nebraska. We recognize the devastating physical, emotional, and financial toll these incidents take on patients and their families.

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical negligence refers to a healthcare professional’s failure to provide a patient with the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm. Essentially, negligence occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other medical provider makes an error or oversight that a reasonably competent practitioner in the same specialty would not have made under similar circumstances.

To prove medical negligence, you must establish four key elements:

• Duty of Care: A provider-patient relationship existed, creating a duty for the medical professional to deliver a certain standard of care.
• Breach of Duty: The healthcare provider violated their duty by deviating from the accepted practices of the medical community.
• Causation: The breach of duty directly caused injury or harm to the patient.
• Damages: The patient suffered actual, compensable losses due to the negligent act, such as additional medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or reduced life expectancy.

Common examples of negligence include:

• Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a condition
• Prescribing the wrong dosage of medication or medication errors
• Not ordering appropriate diagnostic tests
• Discharging a patient too soon
• Failing to take a complete patient history or perform a thorough exam
• Not properly monitoring a patient’s vital signs
• Neglecting to follow up on concerning symptoms

While not every poor medical outcome constitutes negligence, healthcare professionals must uphold accepted standards. Deviations that cause preventable patient injuries may give rise to a medical malpractice claim.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a specific type of negligence by a healthcare provider that causes harm to a patient. While all malpractice stems from negligence, the definition of malpractice goes a step further. It involves a medical professional knowingly engaging in improper, reckless, or unethical behavior that disregards patient safety.

For instance, some examples of malpractice include:

• Performing surgery on the wrong part of the body or surgical errors
• Leaving a foreign object inside a patient during an operation
• Operating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Falsifying a patient’s medical records
• Engaging in sexual misconduct with a patient
• Failing to obtain informed consent before a procedure

Medical negligence and malpractice can occur in any healthcare setting, from hospitals and surgical centers to doctors’ offices and nursing homes. Responsible parties may include physicians, nurses, physician’s assistants, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, dentists, and physical therapists.

Is Malpractice Negligence?

Yes, malpractice is always a form of negligence because it involves a breach of the medical standard of care. However, not all negligence rises to the level of malpractice. The critical difference often comes down to intent.

In cases of ordinary negligence, the medical professional makes an unintentional mistake or oversight. They did not mean to harm the patient. In contrast, malpractice generally involves the provider knowingly acting improperly or disregarding the patient’s well-being.

Another important distinction is the degree of injury. Medical negligence becomes malpractice when it causes significant harm to the patient. If an error does not result in actual damages, it likely remains negligent.

Possible Legal Consequences of Medical Negligence and Malpractice

What are the possible legal consequences of negligence and malpractice? Both medical negligence and malpractice can carry serious legal consequences for healthcare providers, including:

• Civil Liability: Injured patients may file a medical malpractice lawsuit seeking compensation for the economic and non-economic damages they suffered, such as medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and reduced quality of life. If a patient dies due to negligence or malpractice, their surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim.
• Disciplinary Action: State medical boards investigate complaints of substandard care and professional misconduct. Healthcare providers found to have acted negligently or committed malpractice may face sanctions like fines, restrictions on their practice, mandatory continuing education or monitoring, and license suspension or revocation.
• Criminal Charges: A medical professional could face criminal prosecution in rare cases involving egregious or intentional misconduct. For example, a surgeon who operates while intoxicated or a doctor who sexually assaults patients may face charges of a felony offense in addition to civil penalties.

Statute of Limitations on Medical Negligence and Malpractice Claims

If you suspect you were the victim of medical negligence or malpractice, do not delay seeking legal guidance. Nebraska has strict deadlines for filing these claims, known as statutes of limitations.

Typically, you have two years from the negligent act or omission date to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. If you did not discover the malpractice right away, you may have one year from the date you reasonably should have uncovered it. However, this discovery period can extend up to 10 years from the date of the negligent act.

Certain circumstances may pause the statute of limitations, such as if the injured party was a minor during the malpractice or the medical professional left the state after committing the alleged offense.

Proving Medical Negligence or Malpractice

Winning a medical negligence or malpractice case requires extensive evidence, including:

• Medical records documenting the patient’s treatment
• Diagnostic tests and imaging results
• Photographs of injuries
• Medical bills and receipts
• Income statements showing lost wages
• Pain journals detailing the patient’s physical and emotional distress
• Testimony from medical experts on the standard of care and how the provider breached it

These complex cases demand significant time, resources, and knowledge of Nebraska malpractice law. A skilled lawyer can help you navigate the legal process and build the most substantial claim.

Contact Mueller Schmidt Mulholland & Cooling for Trusted Legal Guidance

What’s the difference between medical negligence vs malpractice? At Mueller Schmidt Mulholland & Cooling, we have fought for malpractice victims’ rights for over 56 years. We understand the immense trust you place in healthcare professionals. They should be held liable and accountable for violating this trust through negligence or misconduct. No one should suffer preventable harm from those charged with improving patient well-being.

If you suspect medical negligence or malpractice caused your injuries, our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys stand ready to assist you. Our Omaha wrongful death attorneys provide free, no-obligation consultations to discuss your case and elucidate your legal options. You can convene with our medical malpractice lawyers at our Omaha office, or we can travel throughout Nebraska to meet you.

Do not let medical professionals’ negligent actions go unchallenged. You deserve justice and compensation for the losses you have endured. Call Mueller Schmidt Mulholland & Cooling today at 402-999-9000 to take the first step toward protecting your rights and recovering from medical malpractice. To prove negligence, our firm is your dedicated advocate that provides free consultation and legal actions for any medical malpractice and medical negligence.

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