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
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Show MoreThat 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
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.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are an extremely serious topic and have affected numerous patients, doctors, and hospitals across the country. Medical malpractice is defined as “improper, unskilled or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional” (Medical malpractice, n.d.). If a doctor acts negligent and causes harm to a patient, malpractice lawsuits arise. Negligence is the concept of the liability concerning claims of medical malpractice, making this type of litigation part of tort law. Tort law provides that one person may litigate negligence to recover damages for personal injury. Negligence laws are designed to deter careless behavior and also to compensate victims for any negligence.
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).
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.
However, we are looking at a case study where patients safety has been compromised, professionalism has been voided, lack of communication, nurses aren’t liable for their work, the duty of care has been breached and lot more issues can be discovered. Which will be incorporated in this paper. Looking at the patient Christopher Hammett
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.
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.
“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,
Since no man is perfect in this world, it is evident that a person who is skilled and has knowledge over a particular subject can also commit mistakes during his practice. Too err is human but to replicate the same mistake due to one’s carelessness is negligence. The fundamental reason behind medical error or medical negligence is the carelessness of the said doctors or medical professionals it can be observed in various cases where reasonable care is not taken during the diagnosis, during operations, sometimes while injecting anesthesia
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
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
A tort is generally defined as a civil wrong which causes an injury. “Medical malpractice refers to professional negligence by a health care professional or provider in which treatment provided was substandard, and caused harm, injury or death to a patient” (Nordqvist). Meaning medical malpractice is a tort. The lack of media coverage on medical malpractice has made the public unaware of how stern this problem is becoming. It’s a serious issue that needs to be brought to light. Many lose loved ones because of a mistake caused by certain healthcare professionals. A wide variety of situations can lead to a medical malpractice claim. From failing to tell the patients the side effects of a prescribed medication to leaving
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