A type of negligence for which professionals can be sued is called what?

• A. Malpractice
• B. Negligence
• C. Nonfeasance
• D. Intentional Tort

Answer: (A)

Malpractice is professional negligence—the failure of a licensed professional to meet the standard of care expected in their field. In healthcare, this means a nurse or physician acts or fails to act in a way that falls below what a reasonably competent professional would do under similar circumstances, and harm results as a consequence. To prove malpractice, four elements are typically needed: a duty to the patient, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the injury, and actual damages.

The other terms describe related ideas but not the same focus: negligence is a general failure to exercise reasonable care; nonfeasance is failing to perform an act that should have been done; an intentional tort involves purposeful harm. Therefore, the professional-specific form of negligence that can lead to a lawsuit is malpractice.