Filing Complaints

Malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed and suffers as a result of a professional  licensed provider failing to provide care that measures up to accepted standards of care.

This is both a medical and a legal concept, and for a patient to win a suit against a doctor or medical facility there must be evidence that the professional was negligent, caused harm, and that the harm resulted in significant damages. Medical malpractice is important because it helps provide justice and compensation for individuals but also because it forces medical professionals to take greater care with patients and to work up to a certain standard of care.

Medical malpractice is a kind of negligence, and there are many reasons why a patient may have been harmed. It may be the result of an error in making a diagnosis, making a mistake with treatment or medication, failing to diagnose or treat a condition, or many other mistakes, omissions, incompetence, or simply not providing good care based on accepted standards of care. A patient who believes he or she has been the victim of this kind of medical negligence can start a lawsuit against the individual or group responsible. This is a medical malpractice suit.

The rules of medical malpractice suits vary by state, but there are some basic guidelines that are common to any case. Most importantly there are four factors that are crucial in proving that medical malpractice has occurred. Any suit must meet these requirements to be successful:

• The existence of a medical relationship. First it has to be established that there was a professional, medical relationship between the patient and the individual or team accused of malpractice. This shows that there was a legal duty on the part of the professionals to provide reasonable care. This is easy to prove in most cases, as the relationship is assumed as soon as a patient comes under the care of a medical professional.

• A breach of professional duty. A breach of duty occurs in the context of standards of care. Defining standards of care can be tricky, but in a malpractice case it must be shown that a medical professional violated these standards resulting in a breach of their professional duty to the patient. A professional duty to provide certain standards of care doesn’t necessarily mean the best care, but it must be reasonable and competent.

• Negligence caused harm. A case of malpractice only exists if that breach of duty leads to an injury or some other type of harm in the patient. This can also be tricky to prove, as the professional actions or negligence have to be separated from the illness or injury the patient already had. For instance, if a patient dies of cancer, the family may believe that the medical team was negligent in some way, but it can be difficult to determine whether it was the cancer or negligence that led to the death.

• The harm resulted in damages. There must be some specific and significant damage caused to the patient if all the above elements are proven. For example, negligence may have caused chronic pain, death, mental anguish, expensive additional medical bills, or an inability to go back to work and earn a living.

The licensed professional might state they are treating the client based on the industry's standards of care, but these are considered guidelines and they vary across different professional organizations. 

State in simple, narrative language why you believe a violation has occurred, and be sure to include all documents and materials you believe to be important to the investigation of your complaint.

The failure to respond to questions or requests for information from agency staff may result in the dismissal of the complaint.

NOTE: All documents and materials gathered by or submitted to the Council during the course of an investigation are confidential and will not be returned to the submitting party once the complaint is resolved. Moreover, investigation materials may be disclosed only to those individuals identified in Section 507.205(b) of the Occupations Code. Thus, complainants are encouraged to keep a copy of any materials submitted.

Psychology ( LP, LPA, or LSSP)

Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT or LMFTA)

Professional Counseling (LPC-S, LPC, LPCA)

Social Work (LCSW, LMSW, or LBSW)