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 Hawaii, medical malpractice claims are governed by state statutes that define the legal framework for when a health care provider may be held liable for patient injuries. The elements of a medical malpractice claim in Hawaii include: (1) the existence of a physician-patient or health care provider-patient relationship, establishing a duty of care; (2) a breach of the standard of care, which is the level of care that a reasonably competent health care provider would have provided under similar circumstances; (3) causation, meaning the breach of the standard of care must be the proximate cause of the patient's injury; and (4) damages, which are the actual losses or harm suffered by the patient due to the breach. Hawaii law requires that before a lawsuit is filed, the claim must be submitted to a medical claim conciliation panel. Additionally, there are caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases in Hawaii, and attorneys must adhere to specific procedural requirements when filing such claims.