EXAMPLES OF NEGLIGENCE
NEGLIGENCE and MALPRACTICE
*Nursing is a noble profession, which serve the
humanity.
*Nurse while caring the patient is bounded to some
legal and ethical responsibilities.
NEGLIGENCE
-failure to do something which a reasonable and
prudent person should have done.
KINDS OF NEGLIGENCE
•Commission–wrong doing
•Omission–total neglect of care
ELEMENTS OF NEGLIGENCE
•Existence of a duty on the part of the person charged
to use due care under circumstances
•Failure to meet the standard of due care
•The foreseeability of harm resulting from failure to
meet the standard
•The fact that the breach of this standard resulted in an
injury to the plaintiff
CIVIL CODE, ARTICLE 19
*One shall act with justice, give every man his due,
observe honesty and good faith.
CIVIL CODE, ARTICLE 19
*Those who, in the performance of their obligations
through negligence cause any injury to another, are
liable for damages.
TYPES OF NEGLIGENCE
As A Crime (Culpa Criminal)
-Felony committed by culpa or fault due to imprudence,
lack of foresight, or lack of skills
As Torts (Culpa Contractual)
Negligence –malfeasance, misfeasance, non-feasance
Malfeasance –performance of an act which ought not to
be done
Misfeasance –improper performance of some act which
might lawfully be done
Nonfeasance –omission of some act which ought to be
performed
As Quasi-Delict (Culpa Aquiliana)
-No pre-existing contractual relations
-Negligence, lack of due care
 Burns
 Objects left inside the patient’s body
 Falls of elderly
 Falls of children
 Failure to observe and take appropriate action as
needed
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF NEGLIGENCE
 Failure to report observations to attending
physicians
 Failure to exercise the degree of diligence which the
circumstances of the particular case demands
 Mistaken identity
 Wrong medicine, wrong concentration, wrong
route, wrong dose
LEGAL DOCTRINES
Res Ipsa Loquitor
“the thing speaks for itself”
•Doctrine that infers negligence from the very nature of
an accident or injury in the absence of direct evidence
on how anydefendantbehaved.
Elements
 The injury is of the kind that does not ordinarily
occur without negligence.
 The injury is caused by an agency or instrumentality
within the exclusive control of the defendant.
 The injury-causing accident is not by any voluntary
action or contribution on the part of the plaintiff.
 The defendant's non-negligent explanation does not
completely explain plaintiff’s injury.
Respondeat Superior
“let the master answer"
•Doctrine that a party is responsible for (has vicarious
liability for) acts of their agents.
There are three considerations generally:
•Was the act committed within the time and space
limits of the agency?
•Was the offense incidental to, or of the same general
nature as, the responsibilities the agent is authorized to
perform?
•Was the agent motivated to any degree to benefit the
principal by committing the act?
Bonus Pater Familias
“good father of a family"
•The employer is liable upon finding that he has been
negligent in the selection of his employees (culpa in
eligiendo)orinthesupervisionofhisemployees(culpa in
vigilando).
Detour
-occurs when an employee or agent makes a minor
departure from his employer's charge.
Frolic
-a major departure when the employee is acting on his
own and for his own benefit, rather than a minor
sidetrack in the course of obeying an order from the
employer.
Qui Facit Per Alium Facit Per Se
"He who acts through another does the act himself."
•The master is obliged to perform the duties by
employing servants, he is responsible for their act in the
same way that he is responsible for his own acts.
Force Majeure
"superior force"
•Essentially frees both parties from liability or
obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance
beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike,
riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term act
of God (hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption,
etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their
obligations under the contract.
LEGAL DEFENSE IN NEGLIGENCE
•Nurses should know and attain that standard of care in
giving service and that they have documented the care
they give in a concise and accurate manner
•If the patient’s careless conduct contributes to his own
injury, the patient cannot bring suit against the nurse.
MALPRACTICE
-Acts or conducts that are not authorized or licensed or
competent or skilled to perform, resulting to injuries or
non-injurious consequences.
-Negligent act committed in the course of professional
performance.
ELEMENTS OF MALPRACTICE
•Duty of the nurse
•Dereliction or breach of duty
•Direct result (injury or harm)
•Damages
•Exceeds the limits of the standards of care
•Foreseeability of harm
EXAMPLES OF MALPRACTICE
•Misdiagnosis of an illness, failure to diagnose or relay
diagnosis
•Birth Injuries
•Surgical Complications
•Prescription errors
•Failure to provide treatment
•Anesthesia related complications
•Failure to follow advance directive
•Failure of hospital or pharmacy to dispense the right
medicine, dosage
WHY NURSING MALPRACTICE IS INCREASING?
-Nurse who work excessively long shift may suffer from
fatigue, making them more prone to commit an error.
-In fact, a 2004 report showed the nurses who worked a
shift longer than12.5 hours were three times more
likely to make a mistake.
-Hospitals and other healthcare facilities may hire
inadequately trained nurses or unlicensed nurse
aides to fill a need. The less training a nurse has, the
greater the risk of medical error.
NURSING STUDENTS’ CORNER
LIABILITY OF NURSES FOR THE WORK OF NURSING
STUENTS
•Under R.A. 9173, nursing students do not perform
professional nursing duties.
•Nursing students should be under supervision of their
clinical instructors in order that the errors committed by
nursing students will be avoided or minimized.
•They should be given assignments that are their level
of training experience and competency.
•They should be advised to seek guidance if they are
performing a procedure for the first time.
•They should be oriented to the policies where they are
assigned.
•Their performance should be assessed frequently to
determine their strength and weaknesses.
Prepared By:
de Los Angeles, Jude H.
BSN – IV
AMA School of Medicine – East Rizal
Ms. Juliet Batac, RN, MAN
NCM 107 Professor
9/20/2018