The Standard of Care in a Medical Malpractice Claim
October 2026
Medical malpractice is a complex area of personal injury law that holds healthcare providers responsible for their negligent actions that cause harm to patients. While the vast majority of healthcare providers provide competent care, the results of medical malpractice can be devastating.
A medical professional is held to a standard of care. In Wisconsin, the standard of care is defined as what a reasonable physician in the same or similar specialty would do under similar circumstances. A challenge in bringing any medical malpractice claim is expert testimony. In order to prove a breach of the standard of care, the plaintiff must provide expert testimony that the treating physican did not meet the standard of care in their treatment. A personal injury lawyer evaluates the case and tries to find an expert who can provide testimony that the standard of care has not been met. In many cases, this is a challenging task that the personal injury lawyer takes on which requires much research on their own just to find the right type of expert to evaluate the case.
At Herrick & Hart, we have been on the side of the injured since 1951. We evaluate medical malpractice cases and work with national firms in order to have the resources to take on medical malpractice cases.