Medical malpractice is generally defined as a medical provider's deviation from the accepted standard of care of the medical community. While medical malpractice can result in injury and indicates wrong-doing on behalf of the medical provider, it does not necessarily present grounds for a lawsuit. In order to have a valid medical malpractice lawsuit, all of the following elements must be true: The medical provider had to have owed a duty of care to their patient: A duty of care is a legal obligation that an individual has to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any action that has the potential to cause injury. Medical providers have a duty to their patients to adhere to the accepted standard of care of the medical community in their field. The medical provider must have breached their duty of care: A medical provider has breached their duty of care when their treatment fails to meet the accepted standard of other providers in the same field. For instance, if a patient suffers symptoms that indicate a particular ailment, but the doctor fails to order tests that another competent physician in the same field would have ordered, the physician may have breached their duty of care. The medical provider's breach of duty has to have directly caused the patient’s injury: For instance, if a doctor fails to order the correct tests to review a patient's symptoms, and the patient becomes sicker as a result, they may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. If, however, the doctor's breach of duty was not directly responsible for the patient's injury, they may not be liable for damages resulting from the injury. The medical provider's negligence must have caused the patient to suffer either economic or non-economic damages: Any financial losses caused by the medical provider's negligence are considered economic damages, including lost wages, damage to future earning potential and medical bills uncovered by the patient's insurance. Pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of life's enjoyment caused by the injury are considered non-economic damages.