What do I need to prove to win a medical malpractice claim?

Summarized, a patient needs to prove three things to win a medical malpractice claim against a doctor, nurse or hospital: (1) that the medical professional failed to meet the standard of care applicable to his or her specialty (i.e. negligence), (2) that the patient suffered harm, and (3) that the harm was caused by the substandard care (i.e. causation). While this may sound straight-forward, in many cases these elements are medically complex and in all cases require the supportive opinions of qualified medical experts.