What do I have to prove in order to recover in my case for a medical malpractice claim? | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The law requires that you prove two things: (1) that the healthcare provider (doctor, nurse or hospital) violated the standard of care.  Standard of care simply means that the doctor did not do what a good thorough healthcare provider would do in similar circumstances and (2) that the healthcare provider’s failure to follow the standard of care caused the injury in question. 

These issues are determined primarily through the testimony of expert witnesses such as doctors or other healthcare providers in the specialty of medicine that is in question.  For instance, if there were an allegation that a radiologist misread a mammogram resulting in cancer to the patient, the plaintiff would hire an expert radiologist to testify that the treating radiologist was negligent, as well as hiring an oncologist who would testify that the cancer would have been treatable or removed if the radiologist saw the signs of the cancer in the first place.