John Smith

Kelly Maas

1-16-2016

Mod 2 Case Study: John Smith

A surgeon performs elective surgery on John Smith; Smith complains to his surgeon about pain resulting from the surgery. His surgeon dismisses Smith’s complaints as non-credible and eventually withdrawals from the case. Another surgeon, who determines Smith developed complications from the surgery and that delay of treatment has made the complications worse. Smith sees an attorney about possible lawsuit against the first surgeon.

The case of John Smith receiving elective surgery with a surgeon, then complaining of pain afterwards and the physician dismissing the patient’s complaints and not treating him can lead to multiple liability issues. The standards that are required by a healthcare professional are very high and should be taken very seriously.

The first liability theory could be Medical Malpractice. Malpractice is when a physician fails to follow standard care to a patient. In John Smith’s case, the surgeon used negligent care and treatment of Mr. Smith. Smith can prove the physician owed the duty of care; the physician violated the applicable standard of care, and that the unacceptable conduct caused the injury to get worse due to no treatment.

Another theory could be Duty of Care and Breach of Duty of Care. The duty of care is a law that gives recognition to conform to a particular standard of conduct toward another. The Breach of Duty of Care refers to a medical professional failed to maintain a certain level of care. Mr. Smith did not receive proper care or treatment from the surgeon in question after the surgery was performed. Mr. Smith complained of pain, and the doctor dismissed the patient’s concerns as non-credible. In return, Mr. Smith did not receive proper care or treatment.

Medical Abandonment could also be a theory of Mr. Smith’s case. Medical Abandonment is defined as a unilateral termination of a physician-patient or healthcare provider-patient relationship without proper notice...