Negligence and Malpractice: Application of tort Law الاهمال وسوء التصرف : تطبيق قانون المسؤولية التقصيرية

1. Negligence and Malpractice: Application of tort Lawالاهمال وسوء التصرف : تطبيق قانون المسؤولية التقصيرية Miss Shurouq Qadose 24/4/2011

2. Both negligence and malpractice fall into the classification of tort law, which is a branch of civil law that concerns legal wrongs committed by one person against another person or against the property of another person.

3. Negligence: Failure to do an act that a reasonably prudent person would do or to do an act that a reasonably prudent person not to do. (Carelessness, deviation from the standard of care that reasonable person would use in a set of circumstances. An example; the fall by an elderly person who is being cared for by a sitter. The reasonable person in the place of the sitter has a standard of care to prevent such a fall.

4. Malpractice: Any professional misconduct or unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in professional or judiciary duties السلطة القضائية. The wrong treatment must result in injury, unnecessary suffering, or death to the patient, and it proceeds from ignorance, carelessness. The same type of acts may form the basis for negligence or malpractice. If the action is performed by a nonprofessional person, the result is negligence. When the same action is performed by a professional person, the act forms the basis for malpractice lawsuit.

5. Elements of malpractice or negligence: • Duty owed the patient • Breach of the duty owed the patient • Foreseeability ((التنبؤ • Causation • Injury • Damage

6. Remember that malpractice is negligence on the part of a professional person. Duty owed the patient Duty of care is owed to others and involves how one conducts oneself. When engaging in an activity, an individual is under a legal duty to act as an ordinary, prudent, reasonable person would act. It will take precautions against creating unreasonable risks of injury to other persons.

7. It must first be shown that a duty was indeed owed the patient, and the scope of that duty must be proven. The first aspect may be easier to prove. The patient has a right to rely on the fact that the nursing staff has a clear –cut duty to act in the patient’s best interest.

8. Duty, however, is created by a relationship and not merely by employment status. More important than employment is the concept of a nurse-patient relationship or a provider-patient relationship. This reliance relationship of one person depending on another for quality competent care- actually forms the basis of the duty owed concept. The second aspect of duty is the standard of care that must be delivered. The test for the court to apply is what a reasonable prudent nurse, with like experience and education, would do under similar conditions in the same community.

9. Breach of the duty owed the patient It involves showing a deviation from the standard of care owed the patient, that is something was done should not have been done or that nothing was done when something should have been such as, an incorrect medication was administered to a patient or a scheduled medication was omitted. Omission entails as much potential liability as commission.

10. Foreseeability It means that certain events may reasonably be expected to cause specific results, such as falling down and side rails and other protections.

11. Causation It means that the injury must have been incurred المتكبدة directly by the breach of duty owed the patient. Caution is frequently subdivided into (1) cause-in-fact and (2) proximate cause. Cause –in- fact denotes that the breach of duty owed caused the injury such as incorrect medication with incorrect dosage. Proximate cause attempts to determine how far the liability of the defendant extends for consequences following negligence activity.

12. Injury Injury or harm, the plaintiff must demonstrate that some type of physical, financial, or emotional injury resulted from the breach of duty owed the patient. Pain and suffering are allowed if they accompany a physical injury but not by themselves.

13. Damage The goal of awarding damage is not to punish defendants, but to assist the injured parties.

14. Avoiding Negligent Torts • knowledge to make appropriate nursing diagnosis and to implement necessary nursing interventions. • Remember that the first line of duty is to the patient. • If the physician is hesitant to order the necessary therapy or to treat patients and their families with respect and honestly. • Use the nursing respond to a change in the patient condition, call physician. • Remain current and up-to-date in the skills and education. • Base the nursing care on the nursing process model.

15. Document completely every step of the nursing care plan and the patient’s responses to interventions. • Respect patient’s right to education about their illnesses, and ensure that patients and their families are taught about the disease entity, therapy, and possible complications prior to discharge. • Delegate patient care wisely, and know the scope of practice for yourself and those whom you supervise. • Know and adhere to your hospital policies and procedures. • Keep your malpractice liability policy current, and know the limits of its coverage.

16. Avoiding Malpractice Claims • The patient and the patient’s family who are treated honestly, openly, and respectfully and who are apprised of all facts of treatment and prognosis are not likely to sue. Communications done in a caring and professional manner. • Nurse should know relevant law and legal doctrines, and they should combine these concepts with the biological, psychological, and social science that form part of the basis of all rational nursing decisions.

17. Nurses should stay well within their areas of individual competence, nurses should upgrade technical skills consistently, continuously attend pertinent continuing education and in-service programs on regular activities. • Recognize the concept of the suit-prone patient. Suit-prone patients tend to be immature overly dependent, hostile, and uncooperative, often failing to follow a designated plan care

18. Recognize that nurse’s personality traits and behaviors may also trigger lawsuits. So called suit-prone nurses (1) have difficulty establishing close relationship with others, (2) are insecure and shift blame to others, (3) tend to be insensitive to patient’s complaints or fail to take the complaints seriously, (4) have a tendency to be aloof and more concerned with the mechanics of nursing as opposed to establishing meaningful human interactions with patients, (5) inappropriately delegate responsibilities to peers to avoid personal contact with patients. • While it may not prevent lawsuits, nurses are urged to investigate having professional liability insurance.

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