Medical Malpractice:
an act or omission by a health care provider which deviates from accepted
standards of practice in the medical community and which causes injury to
the patient. Simply put, medical malpractice is professional negligence (by
a healthcare provider) that causes an injury. In the United States and other
countries, a specific medical malpractice law has developed. In English law,
the issue of liability is a subset of professional negligence where, under
the Bolam Test, a doctor will be liable unless shown to have acted in
accordance with a reasonable body of medical opinion.