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 South Carolina, medical malpractice claims are governed by state statutes that outline the necessary elements for a valid claim. These elements include establishing that the defendant is a physician or health care provider, and that the claim involves treatment, lack of treatment, or a deviation from accepted medical standards. The plaintiff must prove that the health care provider owed them a duty of care and that this duty was breached by not meeting the standard of care expected in the medical community. Furthermore, it must be shown that this breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. South Carolina law requires plaintiffs to file a Notice of Intent to File Suit and an expert affidavit before proceeding with a medical malpractice lawsuit. The affidavit must be from a qualified expert who can attest that there are grounds for a malpractice claim. The state also imposes a statute of limitations, which typically requires that the lawsuit be filed within three years of the date of the injury or discovery of the injury, but no more than six years from the date of the act or omission that gave rise to the claim.