Medical malpractice occurs when the malpractice or negligence of a health care practitioner results in the injury of a patient. Typically speaking, medical outcomes are not assured – for example, some operations can lead to risky complications and some are known to be risky – so, unsuccessful or accidental results do not mean that negligence has occurred. In a medical malpractice case, a complainant needs to prove damages or injury caused by the deviation of the doctor from the applicable standard of care. For instance, a physician who has left behind a scalpel inside a patient can be sued for medical malpractice.