Malpractice occurs when a health professional fails to meet the accepted standards of care, which is a breach of

• A. Duty
• B. Injury
• C. Standard of care
• D. Proximate cause

Answer: (C)

Malpractice hinges on failing to meet the standard of care. The standard of care is the level of skill and care that a reasonably competent health professional would provide under similar circumstances. When a professional does not reach that level, it constitutes a breach of the standard of care. The breach is what creates potential liability, because it shows the professional fell short of the expected benchmark.

Think of it this way: there’s an obligation to practice to a certain standard (duty). If that obligation is not fulfilled, you’ve breached the standard itself. The other terms relate to different parts of a malpractice claim—duty is the obligation to provide care, injury refers to the harm suffered, and proximate cause concerns whether the breach led to that harm. But the essential act that constitutes malpractice is a breach of the standard of care.