The knowledge of the principles of negligence law would allow nurses and doctors to better respond and asses difficult and potentially litigious situations. It is important to remember that it is in the interests of us all to have the maximum freedom from legal intervention. The duty of care needs to be established in order to determine who is legally responsible for the harm or loss suffered. Within the general healthcare setting, a nurse or doctor will owe their patient a legal duty of care (Tingle, 2002).
Nurses have to stay vigilant especially when they receive patients that require extra attention. The result of negligence when handling patients is a huge deal as it involves the matter of life or death for some cases. The issue of negligence …show more content…
Mr Nathan, the schizophrenia patient was not properly reviewed by the night medical officer. She did not follow the code of ethical conduct. He had displayed signs of aggression upon his admission and she tied the patient without following the hospital protocol. Putting the patient on restraint prevents him from being able to move freely. All restraints have to be very necessary before they are used. Before they are used, many other things have to be tried to keep the patient safe. These things are called preventive measures. These measures prevent the use of restraints for many patients. Only when these preventive measures do not work and the patient is still in danger of hurting himself or other people then a restraint is sometimes used (Burke, 2010).
A common example of breach of duty in medical malpractice includes the failure to diagnose to treat physical and mental complications (Tan, 2002). Because she was shorthanded she was not able to perform any preventive or alternative measure to calm the patient down before doing a physical examination upon his arrival. She decided on putting him to 4 points as she had 3 other cases to attend to. She had also forgotten to do a proper follow up with him once the aggression phase is …show more content…
After being admitted, the patient vomited a few times in the ward and had another fall on the fifth day when he was about to be discharged. He fell and became unconscious and was rushed to the emergency department at TTSH. It was there when the patient was diagnosed with cerebral haemorrhage. An emergency neurosurgery had to be performed. Mr Nathan passed away and the post mortem showed that there had been continuous bleeding for few days in the brain which resulted in the complication of the emergency neurosurgery which could lead to the cause of death of the patient.
The family came to know about this and sued the hospital and demanded for compensatory damages. Compensatory damages can be split into two categories, special or general damages. The family filed for general or non-economic damages which can also be called non-pecuniary damages. These provide payments for general pain and suffering, and loss of consortium, loss of love (Tan,
Nurses have to stay vigilant especially when they receive patients that require extra attention. The result of negligence when handling patients is a huge deal as it involves the matter of life or death for some cases. The issue of negligence …show more content…
Mr Nathan, the schizophrenia patient was not properly reviewed by the night medical officer. She did not follow the code of ethical conduct. He had displayed signs of aggression upon his admission and she tied the patient without following the hospital protocol. Putting the patient on restraint prevents him from being able to move freely. All restraints have to be very necessary before they are used. Before they are used, many other things have to be tried to keep the patient safe. These things are called preventive measures. These measures prevent the use of restraints for many patients. Only when these preventive measures do not work and the patient is still in danger of hurting himself or other people then a restraint is sometimes used (Burke, 2010).
A common example of breach of duty in medical malpractice includes the failure to diagnose to treat physical and mental complications (Tan, 2002). Because she was shorthanded she was not able to perform any preventive or alternative measure to calm the patient down before doing a physical examination upon his arrival. She decided on putting him to 4 points as she had 3 other cases to attend to. She had also forgotten to do a proper follow up with him once the aggression phase is …show more content…
After being admitted, the patient vomited a few times in the ward and had another fall on the fifth day when he was about to be discharged. He fell and became unconscious and was rushed to the emergency department at TTSH. It was there when the patient was diagnosed with cerebral haemorrhage. An emergency neurosurgery had to be performed. Mr Nathan passed away and the post mortem showed that there had been continuous bleeding for few days in the brain which resulted in the complication of the emergency neurosurgery which could lead to the cause of death of the patient.
The family came to know about this and sued the hospital and demanded for compensatory damages. Compensatory damages can be split into two categories, special or general damages. The family filed for general or non-economic damages which can also be called non-pecuniary damages. These provide payments for general pain and suffering, and loss of consortium, loss of love (Tan,