What is the difference between medical malpractice and medical negligence?

The difference between medical malpractice and medical negligence is an important one to understand. Medical malpractice is when a medical professional is held legally responsible for a patient’s injury or death as a result of their actions. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional acts in a manner that is below the generally acceptable ‘standard of care’. This means they failed to provide the patient with the level of care that any other reasonable professional in their position would have provided. To prove medical malpractice, the injured party must demonstrate that the medical professional acted carelessly and as a result, caused harm to the patient. On the other hand, medical negligence is when a medical professional does not meet the standard of care. This means that the medical professional is not being held legally responsible for the harm that was inflicted upon the patient. The patient must prove that the doctor did not meet the standard of care in order to hold them legally responsible. In Washington, medical negligence is defined as “failure to use the degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonable and prudent health care provider in the same or similar circumstances”. In summary, the main difference between medical malpractice and medical negligence is that medical malpractice holds a medical professional legally responsible for the harm they caused, while medical negligence does not hold a medical professional legally liable.

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What is the difference between medical malpractice and medical negligence?

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