NEGLIGENCE AND

MALPRACTICE
NEGLIGENCE
 - an act of omission or
commission
CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE
2 TYPES:
1. RECKLESS IMPRUDENCE- A person does
an act or fails to do it voluntarily but
without malice from which material
damage results immediately.
2. SIMPLE IMPRUDENCE- the person or
nurse did not use precaution and the
damage was not immediate or impending
danger was not evident or manifest.
3 Essential conditions for
actionable negligence:
• Existence of a duty
• Failure to perform that duty
• Injury resulting from such
failure
Doctrines under
negligence:
 1. Doctrine of
“Res ipsa
Loquitur”
- the thing
speaks for itself
3 Conditions required:
1. The injury was of such nature that it
would not normally occur unless there
was a negligent act;
2. That the injury was caused by an agency
within the control of the defendant;
3. That the plaintiff did not engage in any
manner that would tend to bring about the
injury.
* If all present, NO FURTHER PROOF
REQUIRED
Examples:
- Negligence resulting to injury to a
delirious patient
- Liability for sponge left in the
patient’s abdomen
 2. Doctrine of
 “ Respondeat
Superior”
- principal
answers for the acts
of its agents
* DOES NOT SHIFT
LIABILITY TO
EMPLOYER OR
MASTER
Liability of a surgeon as
head of the team in the
operating room
Liability of a surgeon as head of
the team in the operating room


Captain
of the
ship
doctrine
 3. Force Majeure
- Act of God; fortuitous event
Not answerable unless:

a. Specified by law
b.Obligation requires assumption of
risk
c. Stipulation
SOMERA CASE
Reasonable
judgement and
sound
discretion
MALPRACTICE
- any professional misconduct
- unreasonable lack of skill
- objectionable practice
- practice contrary to established rules
IF PROVEN

1. Criminal liability
2. Damages
3. Ground for suspension or revocation of
license
BOARD QUESTIONS:
1. When a patient falls from a bed, which of the
following is your most immediate action?
a. report to the head nurse and call someone to
help
b. determine any injury or harm
c. refer to the resident on duty
d. put the patient back to bed
2. A patient died due to error in the
bloodtype used for blood transfusion.
The nurse will be considered negligent
and the doctrine that would apply is:
a. res ipsa loquitor
b. respondeat superior
c. respondeat loquitor
d. force majeur
3. In determining whether a nurse is negligent or
not, the following conditions should be
considered except:
a. the nurse failed to do her duty
b. it is the nurse’s duty to protect the patient from
injury
c. an injury resulted from the nurse’s failure to do
her duty
d. whether the action of the nurse is intentional or
not
4. Which of the following behaviors of a nurse
constitutes negligence?
a. do not answer a call at 2 AM of a townmate to
help his wife who has severe abdominal pain
b. failure to diagnose the case of ailment
c. ignoring a complaint made by a patient
d. maintaining patent airway during the acute
stage of a cord injury
5. On admission at the emergency room, the client
is perspiring profusely, breathing hardly and
complaining of dizziness and palpitations. The
nurse on duty left the room to call for the
doctor. This act of the nurse may be a ground
for:
a. reckless imprudence
b. professional negligence
c. malpractice
d. breach of trust
6. A nurse pulled the patient’s bed away from the
rail. The bed legs collapsed which caused
injury on the leg of the patient. The injury is a
sufficient evidence of negligence using the
doctrine:
a. Respondeat superior
b. force majeure
c. res ipsa loquitor
d. captain of the ship
 7. The doctrine of respondeat superior
applies:
 a. Where injury results outside scope of authority
 b. when injury occurs in the course of employment
 c. when injury occurred outside commerce of man
 d. when instrumentality was within control of the
servant
 8. The test for liability under the doctrine of
respondeat superior is the:
 a. power of master over servant
 b. injury itself
 c. extent of damage caused
 d. circumstances surrounding the act
 9. The basis for liability of a surgeon in the
operating room:
 a. respondeat superior
 b. captain of the ship doctrine
 c. corporate liabilty
 force majeure
 10. The following are considered force
majeure except:
 a. typhoon
 b. earthquake
 c. poverty
 d. volcanic eruption