Amputation Mishap Essay

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Amputation Mishap HCS/ 478 Health Law and Ethics April-23, 2012 Margaret Davis Amputation Mishap The article in the Neighborhood’s paper is about Joseph Berson a 62 year old man. Mr. Benson went to hospital for an amputation of his left knee and surgeons amputated his right knee. The hospital has no comment and Mr. Berson is devastated, he is a diabetic and still has the problem with his left knee that still needs to be addressed. According to our textbook negligence is a general term that denotes conduct lacking in due care. Negligence equate with carelessness, a deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use in a particular set of circumstances (Guido, 2010). Malpractice is a more specific term that addresses a professional standard of care as well as the professional status of the caregiver; Professional misconduct, unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in professional or judiciary duties (Guido, 2010). Gross negligence is an act or omission which when viewed objectively from the standpoint of the person at the time of its occurrence involves an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harms to others ("Malice/gross Negligence", 2006). The neighborhood newspaper is referring to the incident as negligence, however because this error was made by professionals its malpractice. The medical professionals who were involved in this surgery all participated in professional misconduct. We don’t know what part of the process was skipped in order for this terrible incident to have taken place but somewhere in the process there was professional failure to perform their duties. It is very important that nurses and other healthcare care professionals document before giving care, during care, after care, and follow ups. Documentation is imperative because it is used as a tool to communicate with the

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