Patients expect health care professionals to provide them with a reasonably competent level of care, and the law imposes a duty on medical workers to do so. If a medical professional engages in improper or negligent treatment it can be considered a breach of duty and if a patient is injured by that medical professional he or she can file a medical malpractice claim. Injured patients have the burden of proving malpractice took place and must do so by showing that no reasonable doctor would have acted in the same way or make the same omissions that the doctor in question did. Plaintiffs who can prove this, and who can prove that their doctor's negligence actually led to harm, are entitled to a number of damages including compensation for lost wages. For more information on medical malpractice lawsuits, see the articles and answers to frequently asked questions in this section.