Malpractice is a special type of tort. A tort is a civil
wrong that permits an injured party to sue for compensation for damages
caused by the harmful conduct of another person. One common type of
tort arises when a driver fails to exercise due care (ordinary care)
while operating an automobile and causes an accident that results in
injury to others. Malpractice and other torts have these three features
in common: they involve a person who has a duty of care toward others,
a failure to exercise due care, and an injury or other monetary damages
caused by that failure.
Because malpractice cases involve members of a profession, many of the issues
that arise are more complex than the issues in other tort cases. When
an automobile driver runs a red light or speeds, the driver clearly
has created a danger for other people on the highway and will be held
liable if the dangerous driving results in an accident. In many malpractice
cases, however, it is not as clear what the exercise of due care means.
Often there are alternative ways to treat a patient or handle a legal
issue. In a malpractice action, an expert in the field may have to
testify about whether the conduct of the defendant (the professional)
fell below what is expected of a professional in that field. It may
also be difficult to establish whether the conduct of the defendant
caused the injury to the plaintiff (the party seeking damages). A medical
patient's health may have declined or a client in a lawsuit may have
lost a case, regardless of whether the doctor or lawyer actually made
an error. The plaintiff in a malpractice case must prove that the injury
would not have occurred in the absence of the allegedly improper conduct.
