Legal Responsibilities

PhotoCredit: Louisville.edu

I. Definition - legally, a breach of the duty to provide nursing care to the client. A form of malpractice. The unintentional failure of an individual to perform or not to perform an act that a reasonable person would or would not perform in a similar set of circumstances. Malpractice is professional negligence.


II. Negligence involves four legal concepts

• Duty - nurses have a legal obligation to provide nursing care to clients

1. Must meet a reasonable and prudent standard of care under the circumstances
2. Must deliver care as any other reasonable and prudent nurse of similar education and experience would, under similar circumstances

• Breach of Duty - failure to provide expected, reasonable standard of care under the circumstances (include errors of omission or commission)
• Proximate cause:

1. Relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting injury
2. The injured party must prove that the nurse's action or omission led to the injury

• Damages - the injury and the monetary award to the plaintiff

1. Example: Mr. X sues Nurse Jones for negligence. Mr. X must prove that Nurse Jones committed a breach of duty and that the breach of duty was the proximate cause of Mr. X's damages