Medical Malpractice :: Medicine Lawsuits Canada Health Care

Medical MalpracticeThe doctor-patient relationship has been defined differently through theyears. In the beginning it developed into a common calling which meantdoctors practiced medicine as a duty to their patients. Laws were developed toprotect patients, thence doctors partd proper care and expert skill. In thepast six centuries, medical malpractice has increased, which lead to revisionand addition to the law. Liability was introduced along with the GIANT of alltorts, negligence. Now in todays society, a doctors duty is to usereasonable care, skill and judgment in the practice of his/her profession andwhen negligent, take full responsibility.What is malpractice? Malpractice is negligence. Negligence is a tort. Atort is a civil wrong, therefore malpractice is a civil wrong. In itssimplest terms, malpractice has four essential elements 1) Duty. Everyhealth care provider assumes a duty when starting consultations, diagnosis, ortreatment of a patient. The duty arises from an expresse d or implied contract.2) Breach. For example, if you fail to make a correct diagnosis once you constituteassumed the duty to do so, you have created a interrupt of duty, due and owing tothe patient. 3) Causal Connection. Your failure to correctly diagnose,(duty you breached) the duty due and owing to the patient and as a submitand proximate cause of your breach, caused damages. 4) Damages. The payoff ofyour failure to diagnose correctly, the patient sustained damages in the form ofan additional hospital stay, complications that whitethorn or may not be of a permanentand continuing nature. (Brooten Jr., Kenneth E. p. 1) Negligence is the mostcommon civil suit filed against doctors. Liability for negligence will not befound unless the following factors are present (a) the defendant must owe aduty to the plaintiff to exercise care (b) the defendant must breach thestandard of care established by law for his/her conduct (c) the plaintiffmust suffer loss or injury as a result of this breach (d) the conduct of thedefendant must be the proximate cause of the plaintiffs loss or injury. (Picard, Ellen I. p. 29) In the case of Adderly v. Bremner (Picard, Ellen I. p.461) the defendant physician was negligent in not changing the syringes tovaccinate 38 patients and instead used one needle for every two patients. As aconsequence, the plaintiff was infected with septicaemia (blood poisoning).This doctor failed to give the required standard of care. Any reasonable doctorwould have in fact changed the syringe after each patient and would haveforeseen the consequences for not changing them.