Medical Negligence

Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional or provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care in their field, resulting in preventable harm or injury to a patient. It involves a breach of duty where the medical provider's actions or omissions deviate from what a reasonably prudent healthcare professional with similar training would have done under comparable circumstances.

Key points defining medical negligence include:

• Failure to follow recognized medical standards: The healthcare provider does not act in accordance with the usual practices expected in their profession.
• Direct causation of harm: The provider’s mistake or omission must have directly caused or worsened the patient’s injury or condition.
• Examples of negligence: Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors (such as operating on the wrong site), medication errors (wrong drug or dosage), failure to order or interpret tests properly, and birth injuries.

Importantly, not every medical error qualifies as negligence. The error must be serious enough to breach the standard of care and cause harm. Negligence is judged by comparing the provider’s conduct to that of a competent professional in the same situation.

In summary, medical negligence is a legal concept where a healthcare professional’s failure to provide appropriate care leads to injury or damage to the patient, and it forms the basis for medical malpractice claims.