Question

A client who fell and broke his hip while being assisted to the bathroom by a nurse states he plans to sue the nurse. The nurse should know that, in a legal proceeding, the standard that will be used to determine if the nurse was negligent is which of the following?

A) An expert nurse provides testimony that the nurse should have handled the situation differently.
B) Another staff nurse provides testimony about how a reasonable, prudent nurse would have handled the situation.
C) The client's attorney states that injury to the client could have been prevented.
D) The client's provider testifies the nurse was at fault for the injury.

Answer 1

The standard to determine negligence in the given scenario is how a reasonable, prudent nurse would act. Liability in healthcare can extend to workers who do not adhere to or follow flawed protocols and to manufacturers of defective medical equipment. The government is responsible for the safety and maintenance of medical protocols and equipment.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the case of a client planning to sue a nurse for negligence due to injury, the legal standard used to determine if the nurse was negligent would be a comparison to the actions of a reasonable, prudent nurse in similar circumstances.

This is typically assessed through the testimony of other health-care workers who have similar qualifications and experiences. In legal proceedings, a nurse's actions are compared to what an average nurse would have done under the same conditions, using professional standards as a guideline. This standard speaks to whether the nurse exercised the appropriate level of care and skill that is expected of someone in their profession.

Considering the broader questions of liability in health care, hospitals and health-care workers may be held liable if they do not follow established protocols, or if they strictly follow a flawed procedure that results in harm.

Similarly, manufacturers might be liable if their medical equipment fails or is found to be defective, even if that equipment is designed to save lives. The government also plays a role in ensuring that medical equipment and protocols are safe and that their use and maintenance are fail-safe.