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 Oregon, medical malpractice claims are governed by both state statutes and case law. To establish a medical malpractice claim in Oregon, a plaintiff must demonstrate that a physician or health care provider, who is the defendant, failed to adhere to the accepted standards of medical care, resulting in harm to the patient. The elements of such a claim include establishing that the health care provider owed a duty of care to the patient, breached this duty by not meeting the standard of care, and that this breach was the proximate cause of the patient's injury. Oregon law requires that medical malpractice claims be filed within a certain time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which is generally two years from the date of injury or discovery of injury, but not to exceed five years from the date of the act or omission causing the injury. Additionally, Oregon has a pre-litigation screening process and may require an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert to proceed with a medical malpractice lawsuit.