Also known as: medical standards · standard of care · medical standard of care
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A benchmark of conduct measuring whether a person has grossly deviated from the standard of care a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation.
Marcus Mitchell, a bus dispatcher, received a report that the driver had nearly fallen asleep after a double shift and that icy conditions were forecast. Mitchell directed the driver to proceed anyway to avoid overtime costs. When the bus later crashed and killed a passenger, the standard of care supplied the measure of whether Mitchell's decision constituted a gross deviation from reasonable care.
Miguel Mendoza, a surgeon, knew a patient faced a substantial risk of stroke if a particular diagnostic step was omitted yet failed to perceive the risk during the procedure. The patient suffered permanent harm. The standard of care determined whether Mendoza's failure to perceive the risk amounted to negligence under the Model Penal Code definition.
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Mohan Malhotra, a seventeen-year-old apprentice mechanic, performed a high-speed test drive on a state highway to verify repairs. He caused a multi-car collision that injured another motorist. The modern trend that holds a minor performing an adult activity to the ordinary reasonable-person standard of care was applied.
Miranda Morales operated an abortion clinic in a state that imposed detailed requirements on facilities and physician qualifications. The state defended the rules as necessary to maintain medical standards and protect patient health. The court weighed those interests against the woman's privacy right when deciding whether the regulations could stand.
Maurice Marshall's mother had taken DES during pregnancy, and he later developed cancer. Because the specific manufacturer could not be identified, the court applied market-share liability. The medical standard of care for prescribing and warning about the drug supplied the underlying duty that each manufacturer was alleged to have breached.
Melanie Morris received a pacemaker that allegedly failed because of a manufacturing defect. She sued under state tort law claiming the device did not meet the applicable medical standard. The manufacturer argued federal MDA requirements preempted the state claim because it would impose a different standard on the device.
The hospital must disclose the physician as a witness who will present expert opinion testimony. Disclosure is required whenever the testimony rests on specialized medical knowledge rather than day-to-day factual observations, even if the witness is an employee.
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The disclosure must identify the witness, state the specific medical subject matter of the expected testimony, and provide a summary of the facts and opinions the witness will offer. A bare reference to standard of care and causation is insufficient.
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Yes. Contention interrogatories that seek a party's application of law to fact are permitted. The court may manage timing but cannot sustain an objection based solely on the opinion or contention character of the response.
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Yes. Even non-retained treating physicians must be disclosed with both the subject matter of their expert evidence and a summary of the facts and opinions they will present.
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…are unpersuasive. As noted above, a State may properly assert important interests in safeguarding health, in maintaining medical standards, and in protecting potential life. At some point in pregnancy, these respective interests become sufficiently compelling to sustain regulation of the factors that govern the abortion…