The Four Elements Of Negligence In Nursing

d. Elements of Negligence The four elements of negligence must be present in order for a plaintiff to recover damages cause by negligence. These are duty to care, breach of duty, injury, and causation. In duty of care, there must be an obligation to conform to recognized standard. In breach of duty, there must be a deviation from the recognized standard of care and there must be a failure to adhere to an obligation. In injury, there must be actual damages. And lastly, in causation, the departure from the standard of care must be the cause of the plaintiff’s injury (Pozgar, 2012, p. 33). In Mr. Ard’s case, in my opinion, the four elements are present. First, from the moment the Mr. Ard was admitted in the hospital, the hospital has a legal obligation to provide standard of care to the Mr. Ard.
Those who are considering in entering into the nursing field or those who have recently entered should carefully examined a number of legal issues related to nursing practice to prevent legal risks. Nurses have the professional, legal, and ethical duties to act in accordance with the American Nurses Association Scope and Standard of Practice. A properly maintained medical record helps ensure continuity of care provided by multiple healthcare professionals, improves the quality of care, and potentially protects the resident from harm (Peterson, 2012). Any inaccuracy in the care plan or failure to document care and failure to provide standard of care is a breach of nurse practice acts, and of state, and federal regualtion. According to George Pozgar (2012), the expanding scope of nursing practice is accompanied by increased ethical and legal risks. In addition, employers play a vital role in providing standard of care to their patients. They must make sure that their employees are competent to do the job and oversee the employees’ performance. Patients seek medical care to get well not to suffer and