What is the difference between a medical malpractice claim and a negligence claim?

Medical malpractice and negligence claims both involve proving that a doctor failed to fulfill their duty of care in providing treatment to a patient. The difference lies in what type of duty of care is expected of the doctor. In negligence claims, the duty of care is based on the standards of practice in the medical profession. This means that the patient must prove that the doctor failed to provide a commonly accepted, reasonable level of care. This may be accomplished by providing evidence of a failure to follow treatments set forth by the medical community. Medical malpractice claims, on the other hand, are based on a doctor’s specific contract with a patient. That contract states that the doctor will provide services with a specific level of care in mind. If a doctor fails to live up to the specific standards they agreed to, then the patient can make a medical malpractice claim. In a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff must prove that the doctor failed to meet the specific terms of their contract and that this breach of contract caused the patient harm. For medical malpractice and negligence claims in Georgia, the patient must prove that the care provided to them was below the accepted standard and that the care breach resulted in harm. In Georgia, the patient must also prove that the breach caused specific physical harm to them.

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