Negligence and Malpractice What Nurses to Know Negligence and malpractice are terms that many use interchangeably, but the meanings are very different. Healthcare is one practice that has been in existence for centuries whether informally or formally. Since the first birth of any kind, the nurturing and caring of each other man or beast utilized the methods available to restore or maintain life. Since the 19th century, instructional school for nursing was established, streamlining the institution of health care today. In the previous centuries, caring for the sick was not the industry we know today. One did not worry about negligence and malpractice lawsuits, but today one has to be knowledgeable and aware of the implications of both negligence and malpractice in the 20th century practice of healthcare. This paper will explore the difference between negligence, and malpractice, and what one can do as humanly possible, to avoid being the subject of either. It will explore the importance of accurate and adequate documentation and how important it is for nurses to maintain Professional …show more content…
If a person commits a “tort a civil wrong committed to another person or their property and the person is a nonprofessional this is negligence.” (Guido, 2014) In the case of Thomas v. Sheridan (2008) a sheriffs’ deputy not trained in handling a prisoner properly, allowed the unrestrained prisoner to take possession of his weapon, fire a shot and take a nurse hostage, no harm ensued, but the courts found the Sheriff’s department was negligent in favor of the nurse. (Guido, 2014) Anyone including nonmedical personal can be negligent. Tort law violations based on “fault” is the most common violation seen in the health care setting. Even if you are not the negligent individual, if you are overseeing staff and you are the licensed personal you could be named in ones’ negligent suit and be in violation of malpractice because of your professional
It was rightly said by Richard Seizer “If people understood that doctors weren't divine, perhaps the odor of malpractice might diminish.” For a patient, the doctor is like God. And, the almighty can never commit any mistake but that is what the patient thinks or believes. In reality, doctors are human beings. And, to err is human. Doctors may commit a mistake, but committing a mistake due to one’s own carelessness is defined as negligence. The Black law dictionary definition of negligence “conduct, whether of action or omission, which may be declared and treated as negligence without any argument or proof as to the particular surrounding circumstances, either because it is in violation of statue or valid municipal ordinance or because it is
A dentist fits several children with braces. The children are regular patients of the dentist. The results for some of the patients turn out to be unacceptable and damaging. There are children who have developed gum infections due to improperly tightened braces. Some mistakenly had their permanent teeth removed, while others have misaligned bites. A local attorney becomes aware of these incidences, looks further into it, and realizes the dentist has not been properly trained and holds no legal license to practice dentistry or orthodontics. The attorney decides to act on behalf of the displeased patients and files a class action lawsuit. The attorney plans to prove the dentist negligent and guilty of dental malpractice by providing proof using the four D’s of negligence. The four D’s of negligence are duty, dereliction, direct cause and damages.
Proximate Cause: The shoulder and rotator cuff injuries were within the scope of the risks that made us determine that the dropping of Vicky’s body was a breach. Because Dwayne dropped Vicky, Dwayne’s dropping of Vicky’s body proximately caused the injuries sustained. Felix’s carrying of the body was a cause in fact but not the proximate cause of the injuries Vicky
What is malpractice? The given definition is improper, illegal, or negligent professional activity or treatment, especially by a medical practitioner, lawyer, or public official. These cases are occurring more all over the state than they should be due to human era. The people at the hands of doctors are being let down as well as left with disfiguration or even death. These cases are leaving people to question their surgeons as well as the nurses attending with them.
In this present day and age, medical care is taken for granted and is losing its integrity as the boundaries between Doctor and Patient is becoming dimmer. With the rapid advancement in the science and medical field, there came hundreds of new machines and procedures that are being incorporated into new forms of efficient and safe treatments; however, with these new advancements, the patients would then need to be informed of the risks and benefits of the procedure before they are to undergo any type of treatment. Subsequently, this can cause the patient to feel uncomfortable with some of the procedures that the doctor may suggest due to the side effects and risks that were stated which would then limit the doctor on the type of care he/she
Day by day medical technology is improving, unfortunately so are cases of nursing malpractice. By understanding the laws that governs nursing practice, it will help the nurse protect client’s rights and reduce the risk of nursing liability (Sommer, 2013, p. 23). It’s usually necessary to prove that the nurse was negligent to prove nursing malpractice. The Joint Commission defines negligence as a “failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would under similar circumstances” and malpractice as “improper or unethical conduct or unreasonable lack of skill by a holder of a professional or official position. Sommer defines professional negligence as the failure of a person who has a professional training to act in a reasonable and prudent manner (p. 24).
That is the rising number of negligent acts committed by medical professionals. Failure to follow standard of practice is the leading root cause of the troubles involving malpractice. Failure to assess and monitor the patient, failure to communicate, medication errors, negligent delegation or supervision and failure to obtain informed consent from patients are the top failures leading to malpractice. The American Nurses Association provides scopes and standards that if followed could prevent many of the negligent acts. Duty, Breach of Duty, Foreseeability, Causation, Injury, Damages must be proven for a nurse to be held
In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
While the law and medicine present unique challenges to health care organizations, managers must ensure they understand and communicate applicable laws and policies to their employees. In addition, they must also be informed of whether their state employs a contributory or comparative negligence common-law doctrine and whether or not a party who negligently harms another is deemed responsible when the injured party himself played a part in his or her own injury (Showalter, 2011). Finally, although the nurse in this case committed the wrong doing, the hospital was also held liable for her actions, therefore, it is critical that organizations fully comprehend the nature of existing relationships and how those relationships, when formed, create responsibilities that if not fulfilled correctly, can trigger a wave of unwanted legal actions.
Clinical negligence is a civil case wherein an individual may claim compensation for the suffered damages or death of the patient, that results from medical malpractice by the liable health care provider.
For healthcare providers, there is no word that elicits as much frustration, fear and anger as much as the word “malpractice.” Medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient. Medical malpractice is a specific subset of tort law that deals with professional negligence. In order to prove that there was some type of negligence going on you must show that:
Negligence, as defined in Pearson’s Business Law in Canada, is an unintentional careless act or omission that causes injury to another. Negligence consists of four parts, of which the plaintiff has to prove to be able to have a successful lawsuit and potentially obtain compensation. First there is a duty of care: Who is one responsible for? Secondly there is breach of standard of care: What did the defendant do that was careless? Thirdly there is causation: Did the alleged careless act actually cause the harm? Fourthly there is damage: Did the plaintiff suffer a compensable type of harm as a result of the alleged negligent act? Therefore, the cause of action for Helen Happy’s lawsuit will be negligence, and she will be suing the warden of the Peace River Correctional Centre, attributable to vicarious liability. As well as, there will be a partial defense (shared blame) between the warden and the two employees, Ike Inkster and Melvin Melrose; whom where driving the standard Correction’s van.
“Health administrators have an ethical obligation to provide a working environment that is safe and does not harm employees” (Morrison, 2016, p. 56). It was not ethical from the supervisor’s perspective to blame Lawanda alone for the error without knowing the actual underlying cause of the situation. The supervisor accused Lawanda of killing the patient and warned her that she should report herself to the state board of nursing. Threatening the novice nurse with jail time and suspension was not correct. The supervisor demonstrated a lack of empathy towards Lawanda and harassed her, ordering her to finish the shift without understanding her feelings of grief. The supervisor’s actions led to the death of Lawanda. This explains that the supervisor caused an intended harm to Lawanda through her actions, which is unethical. Hence, it is the responsibility of a health care administrator to promote a healthy work environment that is free from harassment, imposition, and discrimination (ACHE Code of Ethics,
Legal issues or law may be defined as enforced rules and regulations to meet legal standard and violations of the law will result in criminal or civil liability. Ethic can be defined as a discipline in the delivery of health care in terms of what ought to do in medical technologies, treatments and policies. Risk Management can be defined as a way of reducing risk of liability through the organizations policies and practices. Liability insurance is one of the best risk management for Advanced Nurse Practitioners in order to help and guide them to manage being sue and risks in day to day practice. In today’s nurses are struggling with ethical challenges especially critical care nurses when they have to address the moral questions of “rightness”
As IOM states that, the origin of patient safety problem is classified due to type (error), communication (failure between patient or patient proxy and practitioners, practitioner and non- medical staff or among practitioners), patient management (failure in tracking, wrong referral, or wrong use of resources), and clinical performance (before, during, and after intervention). According to this statement, the accident that was caused by nurse is under patient management. In my opinion, this case happened because she just wanted to finish her report in time. Why I considered this reason for this case because she told me that she has been seven years in this community hospital. And also, after that, she taught me not to be like her and said to me ‘you must check the items not only for this case but also for the other cases as a professional nurse’. So that, I really couldn’t blame on her continually. At that time, I also got shocked so I couldn’t help her to so and get the things. It can be because I was just a very new student nurse so I didn’t realize where things are placed