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 Washington State, medical malpractice or medical negligence claims are governed by both state statutes and case law. The elements of such a claim in Washington are consistent with the general outline provided: (1) the defendant must be a physician or health care provider; (2) the claim must involve treatment, lack of treatment, or a deviation from the accepted standards of medical or health care, or related safety or administrative services; (3) the health care provider must have owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (4) the provider breached this duty by failing to meet the standard of care; and (5) the breach of duty must have been the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. In Washington, the standard of care is typically what a reasonably prudent health care professional would do under similar circumstances. Proving causation requires showing that the breach of duty directly resulted in the injury. It's important to note that Washington has specific procedural requirements for medical malpractice claims, including a mandatory mediation process before a lawsuit can be filed, as outlined in RCW 7.70.100.