Defenses to Medical Malpractice: Patients' Negligence

As malpractice is a form of negligence, defenses that are generally allowed against general claims of negligence are also viable against claims of malpractice. These might include the following defenses:

• The patient was also negligent and caused much of his or her own harm
• The patient failed to mitigate his or her own harm or damage, or made the harm or damage worse
• The patient gave an informed consent and therefore assumed the risk of any complication or untoward effect
• The alleged harm or damage was an unavoidable "known risk" that occurs without negligence
• The patient failed to disclose important information to the doctor
• The patient's prognosis or condition was not worsened by the alleged negligence
• The patient engaged in some intervening or superceding conduct following the alleged malpractice that broke the chain of events linking the malpractice to the patient's damages or harm