Medical Negligence Case - Essay Example

?Sur Lecturer Medical negligence Rameez Raja entered into a contract with the Lister N.H.S. hospital the moment he was admitted in the hospital for treatment. It became the responsibility of the hospital to treat Rameez. Therefore Lister N.H.S. hospital owed Rameez duty for care the moment he got admission into the hospital. Doctor Kildare’s decision to perform an emergency operation on Rameez was meant to revive his life. It was in the best interest of Rameez to get the operation and a breathing device for his survival. Nurse Rachett is an experienced intensive care nurse, therefore any decision she makes concerning the treatment offered in the intensive care unit is justified. However, Nurse Rachett is not a surgeon and could not make any decision concerning the operation and the breathing device without consultation from Dr. Kildare was not appropriate. The attempt to clear the breathing device while she was supposed to summon Dr. Kildare as directed is a medical negligence because Rameez ended up dead. Therefore there is a medical negligence on the part of Nurse Rachett. Rameez was forced through emergency to have surgery performed by Dr. Kildare; however, Rameez could expect the specialist surgeon’s degree of skill because Dr. Kildare was a specialist. In the intensive care, Nurse Rachett is mentioned as an experienced intensive care nurse; therefore Rameez expected and deserved an expert service. Rameez died out of the negligence of Nurse Rachett because she failed to summon Dr. Kildare, may be Rameez would have recovered if Dr. Kildare was summoned to clear the breathing device. Just like the motorists owe a duty of reasonable care to other road users, Lister N.H.S. hospital and its medical staff also owe to Rameez duty to care for his well being and safety. Breach of such duty may result into claims for succeeding damages. However, a difference exists between these two parties is that while majority of people, as a matter of common sense can decide on circumstances where motorists ride carelessly, most of medical treatments entail highly technical and specialized skills. For instance, the insertion of breathing device and decision to carry out an operation on Rameez required specialized and technical skills. If executors of Rameez decide to file a suit, then according to Tom (2005), a court of law will have to get more evidence from other medical specialists on the usual safeguards and correct procedures observed in specific medical treatments before making any decision on the damage caused as a result of negligence. Lister N.H.S. hospital was responsible for protecting Rameez from harm and to offer acceptable level of care. As Rameez’s executors, they are entitled to file a complaint if Rameez never received reasonable care and standards as this amounts to breach of duty of care owed to Rameez. Whenever there is breach to this duty of care, a medical negligence is usually committed by health professional. Doctors are responsible for ensuring that patient understands all risks associated with treatments so as they can provide an informed consent. Failure of which there is claim for medical negligence can be pursued. The case of Rameez amounts to medical negligence because Nurse Rachett failed to summon Dr. Kildare and hence did not provide reasonable care to Rameez which resulted into his death. According to Tom (2005), in order to claim this negligence in the part of a health professional (Dr. Kildare and Nurse Rachett), the plaintiff (Rameez) and his executors must prove the following: That duty to care was owed to the patient: legal duty for care exists any time health care provider or hospital takes care of the patient’s treatment. That duty to care was breached: the health professional failed to conform to and/ or provide acceptable standards of care That breach of duty for care caused harm or injury to the patient: the breach of duty for care is the proximate cause of injury or harm suffered by the patient That patient actually suffered a loss or damage: without losses or damage to patient either emotionally or pecuniary, there will be no grounds of the claim whether the health professional actually was negligent. Nevertheless, damage may also arise without negligence especially where a fatal disease is involved. It is evident that the Lister N.H.S. hospital owed Rameez duty for care the moment he was admitted for treatment. The duty to care was also breached when Nurse Rachett failed to summon Dr. Kildare the surgeon who had the expertise with the breathing device. She took matters in her hand and failed to offer the care that Rameez needed, hence the breach of duty for care. It is due to this breach by Nurse Rachett that Rameez passed away. Therefore the breach of duty for care was the proximate cause of the sudden death of Rameez. Finally, Rameez died and his beneficiaries suffered a loss giving them all the grounds to claim for medical negligence. According to William (2008), majority of doctors do their best for their patients, but in case mistake occurs it often lead to little or no harm. However, medical malpractice amounts to professional negligence where there is an omission by health professional resulting into provided treatment falling below acceptable standards of medical practice causing death or injury to patients. Although Dr. Kildare did his best by inserting a breathing device and suggesting an emergency operation on Rameez, Nurse Rachett made a mistake by not summoning Gr. Kildare as she was directed and this led to the death of Rameez. Lister N.H.S. hospital becomes responsible for negligence to Rameez because its employees committed medical negligence. In cases where hospital admits patients or treats them in section of casualty, just as Rameez was taken to the intensive care unit, it was regarded that Lister N.H.S. hospital will take reasonable care in offering all medical needs of Rameez. However, Lister N.H.S. hospital could not avoid liability by claiming that it delegated duty for care of Rameez to a competent health professional (Dr. Kildare). According to (Jena 197), any of the following actions amounts to medical negligence: Badly performed surgery A delay in provision of diagnosis to a condition resulting to reduction of patient recovery A bad reaction to prescribed drug Inappropriate or incorrect treatment If there is a delay, during childbirth, in responding to the signs of the distress of the baby leading to either the mother and/ or the child being harmed or injured A failure of a medical product or device Apart from failure of the breathing device, Rameez suffered inappropriate treatment by Nurse Rachett the moment she engaged in handling a medical correction that was out of her expertise. Therefore there was a medical negligence which is claimable by the executors of Rameez (Slaby 6-10). Executors of Rameez can therefore prove the four elements of medical negligence mentioned. Medical actions of Dr. Kildare and Nurse Rachett will then be compared to standards set by court of law. It is the court that set standards so it may still be a medical negligence where particular medical practice is accepted or common to other medical practitioners. This negligence can be drawn from any medical professional aspect of practice, be it advice, history taking, examination, failing to test, testing, treatment, or acting on test results and reporting. For instance, failing to summon Dr. Kildare about the complications that resulted from breathing device, and providing inappropriate treatment by clearing the device (Jena 197). In summary, executors of Rameez have a claim of medical negligence to make before the court of law. This is because all the elements of medical negligence are featured in the case as discussed above. However, the case may experience various difficulties such as; access to the medical records, obtaining independent medical reports, and assessing damages. Very few cases of medical negligence are clear cut or simple. The executors will therefore have to access great deal of such information like expert reports and Lister K.H.S. hospital records before they can proceed with the case. However, I would advise the executors to proceed with the claim of medical negligence on Lister N.H.S. hospital and its medical practitioners (Tancredi 200). Works Cited Jena, Lakdawalla. Malpractice risk according to physician specialty. Boston: McGraw Hill. Print. Slaby, Chandra. The medical legal implications: Journal of Psychiatric Forum. 14 (2): 6-10, 1989. Tancredi, Giannini. Scientific evidence of psychiatric malpractice. London: Prentice Hall. 1994. Print. Tom, Baker. The Medical Malpractice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Print. William, Sage. The Elements of Medical Negligence. California: University of California Press, 2008. Print. Read More