An Urgent Care Expert Witness is a physician, nurse, or Physician Assistant who testifies on the standard of care for the treatment of children and adults at Urgent Care clinics. Rather than a field of medicine, Urgent Care is a type of care focused on walk-in visits for the treatment of minor illnesses and injuries. Unlike hospital-based Emergency Departments, Urgent Care is practiced at ambulatory facilities across the United States where care may be delivered by physicians or mid-level providers, including Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners. Urgent Care is not part of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), though there are a number of societies which Urgent Care providers may elect to join. Urgent Care centers are sometimes referred to as minor care clinics, minute clinics, quick care, or minor emergency centers. While Urgent Care centers absorb many patients who might otherwise seek emergency care, Urgent Care centers do not have the same state and federal requirements (EMTALA) to treat uninsured patients.

Urgent Care providers treat myriad conditions including minor infections, pinkeye, muscle strains, food poisoning, and migraine headaches. Many provide additional services including Occupational Health, immunizations, school physicals, and urine drug screening. Since Urgent Care centers cannot treat serious illnesses and injuries, one of the highest duties of Urgent Care is to recognize signs and symptoms of serious conditions so that patients can be properly transferred to an Emergency Department. This situation occurs at Urgent Care centers every day when unsuspecting patients with heart attacks, strokes, complex trauma, and other conditions go to an Urgent Care rather than calling an ambulance or going directly to an Emergency Department. Since any delay in accessing critical care may result in worsening illness or death, Urgent Care centers must maintain a high degree of constant vigilance for patients who inappropriately present to the Urgent Care.

An Urgent Care Expert Witness may be an Urgent Care Physician, an Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner, or an Urgent Care Physician Assistant. Urgent Care experts testify regarding standards of care for the practice of Urgent Care, including missed or delayed diagnoses of life-threatening conditions. Other areas of litigation include mismanagement of minor illness, or failure to refer for timely consultation. Since many minor procedures (e.g. suturing, splinting, intravenous access) are performed in the Urgent Care setting, complications from these procedures may lead to claims of negligence as well.