[driveinstyle2005]

what is the difference? I cant really fing any good examples.

[earle58]

negligence is the omission of an action, resulting in an undesirable outcome.

malpractice is a direct action that creates an undesirable outcome.


leslie

[tnbutterfly]

Negligence is a failure to act as a reasonably prudent person would act under similar circumstances.
There are 4 elements of negligence that must be proved in order for there to be a viable medical malpractice claim.


1. A duty must be owed to the person. In a medical case, this duty occurs when the health care provider accepts responsibility for the care and treatment of that patient.

2. A breach of duty or standard of care occurred. The standard of care for that type of specialty and that particular type of treatment must be determined to see if there has been an act of omission or commission that has caused damage to the patient.

3. Proximate cause - An act or omission can be shown to be a substantial factor in bringing about or failing to prevent an injury or loss.

4. Damages or injuries occur.

[elkpark]

Originally Posted by tnbutterfly

Negligence is a failure to act as a reasonably prudent person would act under similar circumstances.
There are 4 elements of negligence that must be proved in order for there to be a viable medical malpractice claim.


1. A duty must be owed to the person. In a medical case, this duty occurs when the health care provider accepts responsibility for the care and treatment of that patient.

2. A breach of duty or standard of care occurred. The standard of care for that type of specialty and that particular type of treatment must be determined to see if there has been an act of omission or commission that has caused damage to the patient.

3. Proximate cause - An act or omission can be shown to be a substantial factor in bringing about or failing to prevent an injury or loss.

4. Damages or injuries occur.

Yes -- the explanation I've always heard (and used) is that malpractice is professional negligence. Anyone can be guilty of negligence (e.g., a homeowner who doesn't repair front porch steps, a visitor falls through the steps and is injured), but you have to have a license to be guilty of malpractice.

[Hopefull2009]

To me, this has always been a clear cut distinction that requires one to remember one simple fact:

A healthcare professional...be them a physician, nurse, etc. is NOT God.

To me, if a physician makes a mistake, especially one where a split-second decision needed to be made and there was no time to consult someone...if it takes an entire team of physicans to review the file for weeks or months to figure out whether or not it was a mistake...then that is more time than that physician had.

To me, negligence is where they HAD the knowledge or severely deviated from known procedure or protocols without a good medical reason to do so....and really messed someone up.

[TiredMD]

Originally Posted by Hopefull2009

A healthcare professional...be them a physician, nurse, etc. is NOT God.

That's just because I haven't finished residency yet.

[multicollinearity]

Malpractice is a manifestation of negligence in one's professional (licensed) capacity. It is measured by a lack of adherence to standards of practice resulting in damages.