Question

Differentiate between common law and statutory law. Provide an example (related to health care) for each.

Discuss the six (6) elements of malpractice/negligence. Provide an example (related to health care) for each

Answer 1

Difference between common law and statutory law

The main difference between common law and statutory law is that the development of common law is based on previous rulings or decisions in cases by judges while statutory laws are written laws set by the state, federal, and local legislators which are codified into law code.

Since common law is widely based on the judgements made in the past, it is safe to say that common law is being developed daily and applied in similar scenarios. However, there are some areas where common law is not applicable and thus statutory law comes into play, statutory laws can be developed by the government of a state or nation exclusively for specific case scenarios.

In terms of healthcare, this can be explained by the following example, the patient's right to information for a particular treatment and it's consequences, right to choose and right of consent all fall under common law which a healthcare professional is bound to follow. However, if a healthcare professional malpractices and the nature of malpractice is unique and not already covered under common law then this requires a statutory law to be codified into new law code. Generally, healthcare laws by large fall under the category of common laws.

Six elements of malpractice/negligence related to healthcare:

1. Failure to follow standards of care (eg: a nurse failing to seek review for use of a product for its appropriateness could lead to negative outcomes)

2. Failure to use equipment responsibly (eg: Nurse must refrain from improper usage of equipment or modifying the same without proper knowledge as this may even cost the patient's life)

3. Failure to communicate (eg: Since nurses are usually first to observe the change in patient's health status, timely communication about the patient's vitals to the doctors can prove to be life-saving while negligence can lead to fatality)

4. Failure to document (eg: Failure to document site and mode of injection by a nurse can lead to injecting the patient on the same site causing lump or injury at the injection site)

5. Failure to access and monitor (eg: A nurse must observe, access and report any unusual behaviour of the patient like sleeping atodd hours. Also, a nurse must be active in monitoring and reporting. For instance, if the patient is appearing to be asleep at an unusual time a nurse must reassess his/her vitals)

6. Failure to act as a patient advocate (eg: It is expected from a nurse to always hold the patient's wellbeing at utmost priority. Discharging a patient without discharge instructions is an example of a nurse failing to act as a patient's advocate)