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Negligence Mishap

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Submitted By candlelover
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Negligence Mishap
A health care provider has a responsibility to provide safe and competent care to his or her patient. When a patient’s care is compromised, is not satisfied with his or her care, or does not have a successful outcome the legal system becomes involved because of today’s litigious society. Health care providers see lawsuits wrongfully filled, not valid, and some unjustly settled as seen in history of some cases settled, which society was just going for the money settlement. Yet there are some cases in which a lawsuit should be filled but is not because of unaware and uneducated of his or her options. This is why it is important to be aware of the terms negligence, gross negligence, and malpractice as well as fear of experiencing involvement in any situation containing these terms as a health care provider.
As health care providers it is important to be aware of these terms as well as the laws and policies that guide each healthcare practices. This purpose of this paper is to provide the differences between legal terms gross negligence, negligence, and malpractice as well as provide a rationale for this mishap and the importance of documentation. This paper will also briefly describe ethical principles, which would guide his or her practice and how to document the case to satisfy ethical and legal requirements. Legal Terms
Standards of care are generated by institutions, state, and federal agencies to help guide healthcare professional in his or her field. These standards provide and define the minimal acceptable requirements of skills and knowledge for patient care. When a healthcare provider fails to provide competent care to his or her patient, they may be found guilty of negligence, gross negligence, or malpractice (Guido, 2010). Three main elements have to be proven in a case to be valid and these elements are; duty of care, breach in

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