Negligence In Health Care Essay

An extensive range of laws and principles regarding negligence within health care practice have been introduced by the Australian courts. Many of these laws and principles have been set in place in order to guide health care practice, as well as protect practitioners from legal claims. Throughout this piece, the laws, principles and guidelines put in place by the Australian courts will be explored regarding negligence in health practice, including those that are aimed to support the rights of patients. Key terms and phrases such as negligence, duty of care and what constitutes appropriate healthcare practice will be explored throughout. Elements of how each principle acts as a protection for health care practitioners within legal cases pertaining to medical negligence will be explored. How each of these principles developed by the Australian courts can act as a guide for practitioners to structure their work around to avoid legal proceedings and claims of medical negligence.

To be classified as appropriate healthcare, the care given to a patient …show more content…
However, it is a principle which is also used in law to define the obligations of practitioners and to provide them with guidelines of legal responsibility which it is necessary to follow. By consenting to treatment by a practitioner, a person is able to assume the treatment will be undertaken with a duty of care and under appropriate health care standards. If the duty of care is not met, a breach has occurred and the patient may wish to take legal action if an injury, loss of property or loss of income has resulted from the