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 Arizona, the elements of a health care liability claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence are consistent with the general outline provided. A defendant in such a case is typically a physician or health care provider. The claim must involve an issue related to 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 establish that the health care provider owed them a duty of care, which is inherent in the provider-patient relationship. The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the provider breached this duty by failing to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent provider under similar circumstances. Finally, there must be a causal link between the breach of duty and the injury sustained by the plaintiff, meaning the breach was the primary cause of the injury. Arizona law requires that the standard of care and the breach thereof must be established by expert testimony unless the negligence is readily apparent to a layperson. Additionally, Arizona imposes certain procedural requirements, such as a preliminary expert opinion affidavit, to screen out non-meritorious claims early in the litigation process.