The Difference Between an Unavoidable Complication and Medical Negligence

Any unexpected complication or medical injury can be scary, frustrating, and devastating to you and your family. However, not every complication, bad result, or injury constitutes medical negligence. Contact our firm to discuss your case today.

Medical Negligence vs Complication: Was It an Unavoidable Complication or Malpractice?

Did the doctor deviate from the accepted standard of medical care, or did you just end up with a negative outcome? To answer this, you need to ask, “Would another reasonably competent doctor in the same specialty under similar circumstances have done something differently?” If the answer is no, then it may have just been an unavoidable complication. If the answer is yes, another doctor would have acted differently, then you may have a valid claim.

Medical malpractice cases frequently rely on qualified medical experts to evaluate the care provided, explain the applicable standard of care, and offer opinions on whether the provider’s actions caused the patient’s injuries.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can identify medical negligence vs a complication.

How to Know If You Have a Case?

The most thorough way to know if you have a case is to go through the malpractice standard of care to see if you can establish each prong.

You must generally prove four essential elements: duty of care, breach of the standard of care, causation, and damages. Each element must be supported by admissible evidence for your claim to succeed.

Duty of Care

The first step is showing that the doctor or other healthcare provider owed you a legal duty of care. In most cases, this is established by proving that a doctor-patient relationship existed. Once a doctor agrees to treat a patient, they are generally expected to provide care consistent with known accepted medical standards. Establishing that a duty existed is typically the easiest prong to prove.

Breach of the Standard of Care

Next, you must demonstrate that the provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care. This means showing that another healthcare professional with similar training and experience would have acted differently under the same or similar circumstances. In other words, a mistake alone is not enough. You must be able to prove the doctor’s actions fell below the accepted standard.

Causation

It is not enough to show that the doctor deviated from the accepted standard of care. Next, you must establish that the provider’s negligence directly caused your injury or made your condition worse. This is often one of the most challenging aspects of a medical malpractice case because it requires connecting the provider’s actions or failure to act to the harm you suffered, rather than the underlying illness or condition.

Damages

Finally, you must establish that the negligence resulted in actual losses. Depending on the circumstances, damages may include additional medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, or other physical, emotional, and financial harm.

In short, to determine whether you have a case, you must be able to prove that the doctor broke the accepted standard of care and that the doctor’s action directly caused your injury. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will walk through each step with you.

Signs of Possible Medical Malpractice

Almost all medical procedures come with risks, and doctors are required to inform you about those risks so you can make an informed decision about how you would like to proceed. You are probably familiar with consent forms, which you are almost always asked to sign at a doctor’s appointment or procedure. Because of inherent risks in medical care, identifying malpractice is not always immediately apparent. However, there are signs of potential malpractice to watch for. 

These red flags can include:

• An incorrect, late, or missed diagnosis;
• Surgical mistakes (e.g., operating on the wrong body part);
• Prescribing the wrong medicine, mixing dangerous medications, or giving the wrong dose;
• No risk warning or consent before a procedure;
• Unexplained or sudden worsening of the condition or illness immediately after treatment; and
• Ignored symptoms and patient concerns.

If you believe any of these occurred in connection with your medical care, you may have a case. Consulting with a knowledgeable med mal attorney early on can help you identify if you have a claim.

How Can a Complication Not Be Malpractice?

If you suffer a medical complication or injury, it can be difficult to understand if and when it is not negligence. You might ask, why do complications happen even with proper care?

The short answer is: Even in 2026, medicine is not an exact science. 

Almost all medicine comes with risks, and complications can arise due to a number of factors:

• Pre-existing conditions, known or unknown;
• Known risks associated with that procedure or medication;
• An individual patient’s unique body and medical history; and
• An unpredictable patient response to the physical procedure or medication.

Examples include allergic reactions, bleeding, and infection. Even if the doctor followed the accepted standard of care, medical complications can still occur.

How Does Maryland’s Informed Consent Law Factor into Whether You Have a Claim?

In Maryland, doctors must provide the patient with a reasonable and understandable explanation of the proposed procedure or treatment. With this, the doctor must also inform the patient about known potential risks and possible complications, as well as the likely consequences of refusing or delaying treatment.

If a patient was adequately informed of a known risk and chose to proceed, complications arising from that disclosed risk generally do not rise to a malpractice claim.

However, if a provider fails to disclose a significant risk that could have affected the patient’s decision, and that undisclosed risk causes injury, the patient may have grounds for an informed consent claim.

Medical Malpractice Lawyers

If you or a loved one suffered a complication or injury as a result of a medical procedure or treatment, the best thing to do is speak with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible to determine if you have a legal claim. 

At Brockstedt Mandalas Federico LLC, our seasoned medical negligence lawyers have spent years helping Maryland residents hold negligent healthcare practitioners accountable for their preventable mistakes. By meeting with our team early on, you can determine whether you have a surgical complication lawsuit or other malpractice claim. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Official Legal and Other Sources

To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal resources during the content development process:

• Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code Section 5-109
• Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings. §§ 3-2A-01
• Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2A-04
• Maryland Health Care Decisions Act

Phil Federico

Phil Federico is a partner at Brockstedt Mandalas Federico where he helps lead the Mass Tort / Class Action and Environmental Law practices, transitioning into these areas after beginning his career as a medical malpractice litigator.

Phil has led and been involved in historic and groundbreaking litigation with verdicts and settlements exceeding one billion dollars.