· A surgical or anesthesia related mishap during an operative procedure
· A delay or failure in diagnosing a disease.
· Malpractice may involve the physician's failure to gain the informed consent of the patient for an operation or surgical procedure.
· A physician, who has made the correct diagnosis, may thereafter commit malpractice by failing to properly treat the disease process.
· Misuse of prescription drugs or a medical device or implant can also be medical malpractice.

It is the attorney's obligation to determine as quickly and efficiently as possible whether there is a good, actionable case. This is so because medical malpractice cases are by their very nature, complex, expensive to pursue, have a high risk of no recovery, and often involve a client's "personal" attachment. This is also advisable because the legal and medical systems should not be cluttered with the prosecution of worthless cases.