malpractice /malprak″tis/ [L, malus + Gk, praktikos, practical] , (in law) professional negligence that is the proximate cause of injury or harm to a patient, resulting from a lack of professional knowledge, experience, or skill that can reasonably be expected in others in the profession in similar circumstances or from a failure to exercise reasonable care or judgment in the application of professional knowledge, experience, or skill. The four necessary elements essential to maintain a medical malpractice claim are duty, breach of duty, damages/injury, and causal connection between the breach and the injury. Kinds include medical abandonment, negligence, omission.
