Final answer:
To win a malpractice lawsuit against a nurse, a patient must prove an error by the nurse, the patient's injury, and that the error was the proximate cause of the injury. The correct answer is B. Error, injury, and proximal cause.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a patient sues a nurse for malpractice, the patient must be able to prove the three essential elements of negligence, which are: error, injury, and proximate cause. An error means that the nurse must have failed to act according to the standards of care, which is the legal benchmark for nursing practice. An injury means that the patient must have suffered some form of harm or adverse outcome. Finally, a proximate cause must be established, meaning that it must be shown that the nurse's error was a significant factor in causing the patient's injury.
In a legal context, establishing these elements is necessary to prove that malpractice occurred. Lawsuits in the medical field often center on whether established protocols were followed and whether the negative outcomes were the result of a deviation from those protocols.
The correct answer to the presented question is B. Error, injury, and proximal cause.