Medical negligence In negligence cases, medical negligence lawyers measure responsibility based on what a reasonable person under similar circumstances would do.  If a provider fails to exercise that level of care, then they are negligent and at fault for the damage they have caused.  Medical malpractice In medical malpractice cases, we measure responsibility based on how a healthcare provider performed in comparison to how other healthcare providers in the same practice areas and the same geographic community would have performed.  If the care provided was substandard by comparison then they are at fault for the damage they caused.