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 Vermont, as in other states, a health care liability claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence involves a health care provider, such as a physician, being held as the defendant. The claim must be related to the treatment, lack of treatment, or a deviation from the accepted standards of medical care, health care, or related safety and administrative services. The plaintiff must establish that the health care provider owed them a duty of care, which is a legal obligation to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the provider breached this duty by failing to meet the standard of care expected in the medical community. Finally, it must be shown that this breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury, meaning that the injury was a direct result of the provider's action or inaction. Vermont law requires these elements to be proven by the plaintiff for a successful medical malpractice or negligence claim.