The new standard for medical malpractice: Can doctors be liable for doing what everyone else does?

Could a physician still be found negligent under the new malpractice standard — even if they’re following a common practice?

In an interview with Medical Economics, Daniel Aaron, M.D., J.D., breaks down how the American Law Institute’s updated framework draws the line between widespread custom and legal accountability.

“If literally everybody is doing something, I think it's very hard to find liability,” Aaron said. But if a significant number of clinicians view a practice as unreasonable or not evidence-based, “then there would be more of a prospect of liability.”

Importantly, he noted, “The standard operates as a floor of minimum competence. Doctors don’t have to be average … the key is to operate above a minimum level of competence.”