Negligence

Negligence Paper

In the following paper, an in-depth review of the news article Negligence Cited in Amputation Mishap (University of Phoenix, 2014) will be discussed. A decision will be documented and rationale provided for the disagreement with the news article. A differentiation between the terms negligence, gross negligence, and malpractice will occur along with the reasoning for accurate documentation. Finally, ethical principles that are involved in this article will be evaluated and discussed.

Differentiate Between Negligence, Gross Negligence, and Malpractice

To differentiate between the terms negligence, gross negligence, and malpractice a basic definition and understanding of the terms must occur. Negligence can be defined as “a deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use in a particular circumstance” (Guido, 2010, p. 92). It is also thought of as being careless. Any individual can be a medical profession or not to be considered liable for negligence. Gross negligence refers to the “intentional failure to perform a manifest duty in reckless disregard of the consequences as affecting the life and property of another” (Chandler & Miller, 2013, p. 18). Finally, malpractice is the “failure of a professional person to act in accordance with the prevailing professional standards or failure to foresee consequences that a professional person, having the necessary skills and education should foresee” (Guido, 2010, p. 93). A key component in malpractice is that the individual accused of the malpractice must be a professional.

The same acts may be either negligence or malpractice with the difference being, if the act was performed by a nonprofessional it is negligence. If the personal is a professional, then the acts are the basis for malpractice. In gross negligence, the individual intentionally failed to act or perform an action causing severe harm to an individual. The main emphasis is that the act is intentional.

Decision...