Part I: Negligence Liability Negligence, which is often an unintentional action,
ID: 125063 • Letter: P
Question
Part I: Negligence Liability Negligence, which is often an unintentional action, occurs when a person either performs or fails to perform an action that a reasonable professional person would or would not have performed in a similar situation (Fremgen, 2012). When a person is injured, they sue under tort law (“a wrongful act against another person”). The unintentional tort of negligence is the most often cause of lawsuits for healthcare professionals (Fremgen, 2012). Charges of negligence against a physician or other healthcare professional arise because the patient or family is not happy with the outcome of the treatment or procedure (Fremgen, 2012). A jury in a negligence trial would have to determine if a reasonable professional person would have done the same action. Malpractice is the wrongdoing or negligence committed by a professional person, such as a medical professional (Fremgen, 2012). •By using your experience or resources on the Internet, present a case of negligence against a physician. •Will such a case impact the liability of a hospital? Why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
Negligence Liability Risk Management in Health Care:
1. By using your experience or resources on the Internet, present a case of negligence against a physician.
I selected a woman paralyzed case due to the negligence:
According to the given case study, in the year 2006 on June 28 Ms. Adae was admitted to the Clinton Memorial hospital and complains about her pain and her right shoulder limited range of motion accompanied by a cough and fever. Then the physician was diagnosed and told to her she was affected with an infection. In the reports they mentioned made of doing a spinal tap, but it was never done to her. Blood work was done and Ms. Adae was discharged the next day with not results of her blood work. According to reports, on July 2, 2006 the doctor was made aware of that Ms. Adae did in fact have an infection, in spite of this, no further contact was made with Ms. Adae. Meanwhile, Ms. Adae was admitted to yet another hospital, Middletown Regional and again discharged without no knowledge of what was wrong with her. Only to return four days later to Middletown Regional, where finally she was diagnosed, an epidural abscess of course too little too late, as by now Ms. Adae had “developed progressive paraplegia, weakness of her upper and lower extremities, slurred speech, and acute renal failure.” Due to the direct and proximate negligence (Crow, 2013). In this case court was fined 2.3 millions due to the negligence of physician.
2. Will such a case impact the liability of a hospital? Why or why not?
The hospital itself was not directly impacted, the attorneys went after the University of Cincinnati as the family practice residency program which provided teaching, training and experience to the family practice residents was operated through the university. Jurisdiction initially was given to The Court of Claims who determined all the civil actions filed against the State of Ohio and its agencies (Crow, 2013)
Reference:
Crow, B. (2013). Paralyzed Woman Settles Medical Negligence Case with University of Cincinnati for $2.3 Million. Retrieved December 10, 2015.