Was This Medical Malpractice?

The Four Elements of Oregon Medical Malpractice

Every Oregon medical-malpractice claim is built on the same four elements. The quiz tests roughly for each, but the real analysis happens after Todd reviews your answers and the medical records.

1. 1. Duty

   A provider-patient relationship existed, creating a legal duty of care. A relationship is formed when a provider undertakes to treat or evaluate you — it doesn't require an ongoing primary care arrangement. ER providers, anesthesiologists, radiologists, consulting specialists, and pharmacists can all owe a duty.

2. 2. Breach

   The provider failed to meet the standard of care a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have followed. Establishing breach in Oregon requires expert medical testimony — typically from a physician in the same specialty as the defendant.

3. 3. Causation

   The breach directly caused your injury. This is the element most cases turn on, because even when the breach is obvious, the defense will argue the outcome would have been the same regardless. Causation almost always requires its own expert opinion.

4. 4. Damages

   You suffered measurable harm — medical bills, lost income, future care needs, pain and suffering, or (in death cases) the losses to surviving family. Where the patient survives, Oregon applies no statutory cap to non-economic damages: Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems (2020) held the ORS 31.710 cap unconstitutional as applied to a severely injured plaintiff, and a 2021 amendment narrowed the statute to wrongful-death claims only. In a death case the $500,000 cap is the statutory default and must be challenged as applied — but two statutory exclusions come first: the cap does not reach a claim against a public body, or a claim subject to workers’ compensation.

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