A new article published in JAMA explores Restatement of the Law, Medical Malpractice. “A New Legal Standard for Medical Malpractice” (Aaron DG, Robertson CT, King LP, Sage WM. A New Legal Standard for Medical Malpractice. JAMA. Published online February 26, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.0097) explores the project, which was approved by membership at the 2024 Annual Meeting.*
Abstract
Importance Patients in the US have persistent needs for safe, evidence-based care. Physicians in the US report fear of liability risk and the need to practice “defensive medicine.” In 2024, the American Law Institute revised the legal standard for assessing medical negligence. Understanding the implications of this change is crucial for balancing patient safety, physician autonomy, and the legal system’s role in health care.
Observations The updated standard from the American Law Institute shifts away from the traditional reliance on customary practice toward a more patient-centered concept of reasonable medical care. Although this revised standard still includes elements of prevailing medical practice, it defines reasonable care as the skill and knowledge regarded as competent among similar medical clinicians under comparable circumstances and acknowledges that, in some cases, juries can override customary practices if they fall short of contemporary standards. The restatement also embraces evidence-based practice guidelines, while leaving questions open about the variations in the quality of those guidelines. The restatement makes additional recommendations regarding informed consent and other aspects of physician-patient communication.
Conclusions and Relevance The new standard of care from the American Law Institute represents a shift away from strict reliance on medical custom and invites courts to incorporate evidence-based medicine into malpractice law. Although states may adopt the recommendations from the American Law Institute at different times and to varying degrees, the restatement offers health professionals and the organizations in which they practice an opportunity to reconsider how medical negligence will be assessed, and to focus more directly on promoting patient safety and improving care delivery. Nonetheless, physicians should recognize that, at least for now, many courts will continue to rely significantly on prevailing practice in assessing medical liability.
*The Reporters, subject to oversight by the Director, are preparing the Institute’s official text for publication. At this stage, the Reporters are authorized to correct and update citations and other references, to make editorial and stylistic improvements, and to implement any remaining substantive changes agreed to during discussion with the membership or by motions approved at the Annual Meeting. Until the official text is published, the drafts approved by the membership are the official position of ALI, and may be cited as such.