Although medical malpractice is most often thought of as applying to physicians, the term includes the medical negligence of any medical care provider, including, for example, dentists, nurses, and therapists. Claims may also be brought against hospitals, clinics, or medical corporations for direct liability or for vicarious liability for the negligence of an employee.

In common with other forms of claims for negligence, in order to succeed in a claim (lawsuit) against a provider, the claimant (plaintiff) must successfully demonstrate three things:

That the provider failed in his/her duty of care towards the patient: the provider failed to do something that a reasonably prudent provider in the same field would have done under the same or similar circumstances, or that the provider did something that no reasonably prudent provider in the same field would have done under the same or similar circumstances.
That some harm was caused by this failure to comply with the duty of care, and that the harm risked by such misconduct was reasonably foreseeable at the time.
The amount of damages that would reasonably compensate the plaintiff for the harm caused by the malpractice.

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