Laws vary from state to state, but the elements of a health care liability claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence are generally:

• a physician or health care provider is a defendant;

• the claim or claims at issue concern treatment, lack of treatment, or a departure from accepted standards of medical care or health care, or safety, professional, or administrative services directly related to health care;

• the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;

• the defendant breached its duty of care by not meeting the required standard of care; and

• the defendant’s act or omission proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury (was the primary cause of the injury).

In Alabama, the elements of a health care liability claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence are consistent with the general outline provided. A plaintiff must establish that a physician or health care provider, who is the defendant, had a duty of care towards the plaintiff. The claim must involve treatment, lack of treatment, or a deviation from the accepted standards of medical or health care, or related safety or administrative services. The plaintiff must demonstrate that the health care provider breached this duty by failing to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent provider under similar circumstances. Finally, it must be shown that this breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury, meaning it was the primary cause. In Alabama, medical malpractice claims are subject to specific procedural requirements, such as a statute of limitations, which generally requires filing a claim within two years of the alleged act or omission, and the requirement of an affidavit of merit from a qualified health care provider in some cases. Additionally, Alabama has a cap on punitive damages in medical malpractice cases, but not on compensatory damages.