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Running Head: Negligence

Negligence in HealthCare

Jassmine Bradley

University of Mary
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Negligence

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain negligence in the field of healthcare. I will
discuss and define the three forms, three degrees, and the four elements of negligence. I
will also present a negligence case and discuss the form, degree, and elements of said
case. In conclusion, prevention of this negligence case will be stated.

Keywords: negligence, elements, forms, degrees, healthcare

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Negligence

Negligence is a term used often in everyday conversations, but what does it really

mean? Negligence is a civil or personal wrong, the unintentional commission or omission

of an act that normally would or would not do under given circumstances (Pozgar, 2019,

p. 43).

There are three forms of negligence: malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance.

Malfeasance, which is the highest level of wrong doing (Cornell.edu, 2014), is when a

performance of an unlawful act takes place, such as abortion in a state that prohibited it.

Misfeasance is the improper performance of an act that results in the injury of a patient.

One example would be a diabetic patient undergoing a foot amputation, and the healthy

foot is wrongfully amputated. Another example would be when a patient receives the

wrong medication. Lastly, nonfeasance happens with the healthcare professional fails to

act when there is a duty to perform. Such examples would be the failure to administers

medications or order diagnostic studies (Pozgar, 2019, p. 43).

Along with the three forms of negligence, there are three degrees of it. These

describes the damages in a negligence case. Slight negligence is a minor deviation of

what was expected in those circumstances. Ordinary negligence is the failure to do or not

do what was reasonably expected in those circumstances. Gross negligence is the

intentional omission of the required care. This is the most severe degree of negligence

(thelawdictionary.org, 2012).
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Negligence

Elements of negligence must be proven in order for the plaintiff to recover

damages. First element is duty of care, which is a legal obligation of care imposed on one

to safeguard the rights of others. Breach of duty is the deviation from the recognized

standard of care. Injury are the actual damages that are established. This includes

physical harm, pain, suffering, and loss of income or reputation. Lastly, causation is the

departure from the standard of care that causes injury.

In the case of Harder v. Clinton, Harder is the guardian of her sister, Kayser.

Kayser was admitted to a nursing home and a few months later, she was transferred to a

hospital for an overdose of a diabetic medication. She then fell into a hypoglycemic coma

and needed an intravenous device inserted into her foot to treat the coma. She later

developed gangrene, in said foot, which resulted an above-the-knee amputation. Harder

filed a suit against the nursing home for causing unnecessary harm towards Kayser,

which followed a res ipsa loquitur pattern of proof (Pozgar, 2019, p. 283). In the case of

Harder v. Clinton, documents showed that the diabetic drug, tolbutamide, was not

prescribed to Kayser in the nursing home she resided in (caselaw.findlaw.com, 2019).

This shows that if she did not receive this drug, then she would not have been in an

overdose-induced hypoglycemic coma. Kayser’s injury can be traced back to the

ingestion of the drug at the nursing home. The diabetic drug was stored and administered

under the nursing home’s care by a nursing home’s employee (caselaw.findlaw.com,

2019). Harder was not the one who administered the drug, nor was she there at the time

of ingestion. Therefore, she did not contribute to the injury.

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Negligence

The information above clearly outlines the forms, degrees, and elements of

negligence. The form of negligence is misfeasance. The healthcare provider administered

the wrong medication, resulting in an overdose. The healthcare professional displayed a

degree of ordinary negligence solely because he did not deliberately administer a wrong

medication. The medical professional had a legal obligation to care for Kayser, however,

because of the deviation of care, there was a breach in this duty. This breach resulted in

physical injury and death. These turn of events falls on the element of causation. This

proves the nursing home acted with negligence, resulting in the injury of Kayser. The

circumstantial evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that in the absence of

negligence, Kayser would have not been in this situation. Certain procedures could have

prevented this situation. One procedure the nursing home should have implemented is the

five rights of medicine administration, which prevents medication errors if used properly

(ihi.org, 2015). The five rights alone would have prevented this negligence and the

patient would still be alive because of it.

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Negligence

References

Cornell University. (2014, November 12). Malfeasance. Retrieved from

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/malfeasance

FindLaw's Supreme Court of Oklahoma case and opinions. (2019). Retrieved May 24,

2019, from https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ok-supreme-court/1454246.html

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2015). The Five Rights of Medication

Administration. Retrieved May 24, 2019, from

http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/ImprovementStories/FiveRightsofMedication

Administration.aspx

Pozgar, G. D. (2019). Legal aspects of health care administration(13th ed.). Burlington,

MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

The Law Dictionary. (2012, November 6). What is Degree of Negligence. Retrieved from

https://thelawdictionary.org/degree-of-negligence/