Essay Example on General Concept of Medical Negligence

The consequent damage Reason of action for negligence comes about only when the damage takes place for damage is an essential component of this tort Thus there are components of negligence duty breach and resulting damage 1 Austin defines negligence thus In case of negligence a party performs not an act to which he is obliged he breaks a positive duty 2 Actionable negligence involves in the neglect of the practice of normal care or skill towards a person to whom the defendant seeks and deserves the duty of observing normal care and skill through which neglect the plaintiff has suffered from damage to his person or property 3 Salmond considered negligence as condition of mind which was a component of liability for torts in general for an alternative to intention However it is established that negligence can be considered a specific tort if the following conditions are met and they must be established and maintained by the plaintiff i That the defendant in question was under a duty to take care of the plaintiff to circumvent the damage complained of ii That there occurred a breach of that duty by the defendant and iii That the plaintiff has suffered an actual loss or damage and that the breach was the direct as well as proximate reason of the damage complained of 

That the doctor who has been complained against was under a duty to take reasonable care towards the plaintiff to avoid the damage or injury complained of or not to cause damage to the patient by failing to use the reasonable care warranted from the doctor ii That there was a breach of such duty on the part of the doctor and iii That this kind of breach of duty was the actual and real cause of the damage or injury complained of and such damage could be foreseen if reasonably tried 2 3 Definition of Medical Negligence Medical negligence is a type of professional negligence and as such forms, a part of the law of tort Medical negligence or clinical negligence which is a more common term used today is concerned with the claims for damages or for injuries suffered by patients and or others at the hands of doctors and other health care professionals