New York Malpractice Definition

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

What you can actually collect after a crash or other loss may turn on this one policy clause. When more than one insurance policy could apply, an anti-stacking provision can...

DEFINITION 2026-04-03

borrowed servant rule

A worker can become another party's employee for a specific job. The key question is control. Under the borrowed servant rule, an employee who is normally hired and paid by one...

DEFINITION 2026-03-25

captain of the ship doctrine

After a surgery goes badly, the worst surprise is learning that the person who led the operation may not automatically be legally responsible for every mistake made in the...

DEFINITION 2026-03-26

certificate of merit

Do I need proof from a medical expert before filing a malpractice case? Often, yes. A certificate of merit is a statement filed by the patient's lawyer saying they consulted...

DEFINITION 2026-03-25

coordination of benefits

The worst-case version is simple: you think your treatment is covered, the bills go to the wrong insurer, each company says the other should pay first, and collections start...

DEFINITION 2026-04-01

declarations page

What trips people up most is that the declarations page is not the whole insurance policy. It is the quick-summary page, usually near the front, that lists the basic facts of...

DEFINITION 2026-04-02

delayed diagnosis

You just got a letter that says a cancer, stroke, infection, or fracture was not identified when it should have been, and now the treatment is harder, riskier, or less likely...

DEFINITION 2026-03-31

exclusion clause

An exclusion clause is policy language that says what an insurer will not pay for. "Policy language" matters because coverage starts with the exact words in the insurance...

DEFINITION 2026-04-01

expert affidavit requirement

Miss this requirement, and a case can stall early, get challenged by the defense, or arrive in court looking unprepared before the real facts are ever heard. An expert...

DEFINITION 2026-03-25

failure to diagnose

A dangerous condition gets missed, treatment is delayed, and a problem that might have been manageable turns into a medical emergency. That is the basic idea behind failure to...

DEFINITION 2026-03-29

hospital-acquired infection

A patient does not need to catch an infection during surgery for it to count; if it develops during a hospital stay or from hospital care and was not present or incubating...

DEFINITION 2026-03-29

informed consent

Permission given after a patient gets enough information to make a real choice. "Enough information" usually means the provider explains the proposed treatment or procedure,...

DEFINITION 2026-03-31

lack of informed consent

Like agreeing to a major car repair without being told the risks, the alternatives, or what could happen if the fix goes wrong, a medical decision is not really a fair choice...

DEFINITION 2026-03-27

loss of chance doctrine

It allows recovery when negligence reduced a patient's chance of a better outcome. "Chance" usually means the possibility of survival, recovery, or avoiding a worse injury....

DEFINITION 2026-03-23

medical review panel

Money and case timing can turn on whether a claim must go through a screening step before suit. A medical review panel is a pretrial body - usually made up of physicians,...

DEFINITION 2026-03-29

medication error

A medication error is a preventable mistake involving a drug's prescribing, dispensing, labeling, dosing, administration, or monitoring that can harm a patient or create a...

DEFINITION 2026-03-25

res ipsa loquitur

When a parked car is found with a crushed roof under a fallen construction beam, most people do not need a long explanation to know something went badly wrong. The event speaks...

DEFINITION 2026-03-29

screening panel

A screening panel can affect your case value early, because it may shape whether a claim looks strong enough to settle, gets dismissed, or becomes more expensive to fight. When...

DEFINITION 2026-03-30

standard of care

You'll often see this phrase in a medical record review, an insurance denial letter, a lawyer's case evaluation, or a doctor's explanation of what "should have been done" under...

DEFINITION 2026-03-26

step-down provision

The trap is that coverage may look generous on the declarations page, but a hidden clause can cut those limits way down for certain drivers, vehicles, or situations. A...

DEFINITION 2026-03-31

subrogation

When an insurer pays for a loss, it may step into the injured person's shoes and try to collect that money back from the person or company that caused the harm. A common...

DEFINITION 2026-04-01

surgical error

You just got a letter that says a complication after surgery may have resulted from a preventable mistake. A surgical error is a mistake made before, during, or immediately...

DEFINITION 2026-03-27