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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Medical malpractice actions: procedural elements
1Division of Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0214, USA. mrw9c@virginia.edu
Abstract:
Medical malpractice suits are intensely anxiety-provoking for physicians, in part because of the foreignness of legal terminology and procedure that accompanies them. Consultations with attorneys in such matters may be confusing, and the sequence of necessary legal steps, after the filing of a complaint against the physician, can appear to be arcane and laborious. This brief discussion outlines the legal terminology and procedure that are part of any tort action--including malpractice--with the goal of reducing unfamiliarity with those elements on the part of physicians.
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