This blog is written by Shittu Shijuade Sultan, a Third-year law student of Lagos State University

Medical negligence is a very important and crucial component of the law because it looks over the medical profession and ensures that the rights and safety of the patients are put first.

Medic negligence is the inability or failure to provide a certain degree of care as expected from a medical practitioner or caretaker.

· Duty of care

· Breach of duty

· Causation

· Damages

DUTY OF CARE

This can be seen as the presumed, actual, or apparent responsibility to do or not to do something in certain situations and circumstances where/when it is required. Some scholars have given their definitions of duty of care, here are some definitions

Professor William Prosser (1941) defined duty of care as "a legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid act or omission that can reasonably be foreseen to injure another person or property"

"A duty to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm to another person or property, which is breached if the defendant fails to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonable person". (Professor Mark Hurston) 2016

BREACH OF DUTY

A breach of duty is when the duty of care owed has been disregarded or unfulfilled to the standard expected by law.

The key point in this case is that there was a breach of duty of care, it was caused by the person who owed the duty of care and the breach resulted in damages.

CAUSATION

This can simply be seen as the actual reason or cause of the breach of duty. Causation under negligence is the act or omission which leads to an offer or can be traced to [i]the [ii]cause of it.

Chain of causation is the complete link of action for the defendant to the injury of the plaintiff, for example when I doctor ignores a patient's files and fails to take any necessary test to determine the illness and gives a wrong diagnosis.

The foreseeability test is a test that is taken to determine whether the defendant might have reasonably foreseen a specific accident or injury.

DAMAGES

Damages are the final element of negligence. Because the plaintiff suffered injury or loss, which a reasonable person in that same situation could expect or foresee, monetary compensation may be the only form of relief for those injuries. Damages include medical care, lost wages, emotional turmoil, and more.

For example: if a patient suffers because of a doctor's ignorance or lack of care then that patient can institute an action against that doctor or hospital.

DEFENSES FOR MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

There are defenses available for the defendant in a case of medical negligence, these include;

· Informed consent

This is an important concept in medical ethics that ensures that medical practitioners are taking any step with the consent of the patient.

· Contributory negligence

This happens when a patient is partially responsible for their injury For example, a patient mixes prescriptions against the doctor's orders. Or, if a patient fails to disclose key elements of their medical history, the doctor may not be responsible for any injuries.

· Assumption of risk

This is a legal doctrine that applies when an individual voluntarily engages in an activity or assumes the risk, thereby putting all the risk on himself for any damage done.

CONCLUSION

We have looked at the definition of negligence and medical negligence in law, which is the failure to provide the reasonable standard of care that is required. We also looked at the elements and factors of medical negligence which are; duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages, and a clear explanation of the law on each. Finally, we talked about the available defenses for the defendant in a case of medical negligence.

The laws on medical negligence are put in place to act on any medical practitioner who has breached his duty of care to his patients in one way or another and I would encourage the person who is looking for redress/a way to get justice for any act on medical negligence to take a legal action.

REFERENCES

· https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/four-elements-negligence

· Wilson kehoe wininghamhttps://www.wkw.com/our-team/

· The Carlson law firm, https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/news-and-update/four-elements-negligence

· Hanan Zaki, J.D., LL.M., https://www.findlaw.com/injury/medical-malpractice/defenses-to-medical-malpractice-

· https://www.findlaw.com/injury/medical-malpractice/defenses-to-medical-malpractice-

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