Injuries caused by the actions, inaction, or omissions of a caregiver, nurse, nursing home, doctor, or other medical professional can be as complex as they are hurtful. When you entrust the well-being of yourself or a loved one to a doctor, nurse, or caregiver, you expect them to handle your needs appropriately. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
If you or a loved one has suffered due to a medical professional or caregiver, you’ll likely hear terms like medical malpractice and negligence. While you might think these are interchangeable, there are important distinctions between negligence vs malpractice. It’s critical to understand these distinctions in order to pursue the right legal path, gather effective evidence, and secure the compensation the victim is entitled to.
The Richards Firm is an accident, injury, and nursing home negligence law office in Hamilton, Ohio. We help Ohio and Kentucky residents who have fallen victim to negligence, particularly in cases involving care facilities and nursing homes. To understand what actions you should take, let’s break down the differences between negligence vs malpractice.
What is Negligence?
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, negligence “is such an inadvertent imperfection, by a responsible human agent, in the discharge of a legal duty, as immediately produces, in an ordinary and natural sequence, a damage to another. defines it as, the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation.’”
In simpler terms, negligence occurs when harm arises from careless actions or inaction. The person at fault doesn’t need to intend to cause harm. It only needs to be shown that the harm occurred because someone failed to take the reasonable steps to prevent it from occurring.
Negligence in caregiving settings often involves errors, oversights, or lapses in care standards that harm vulnerable individuals. Nursing home negligence may look like failing to assist a resident with mobility, neglecting hygiene needs, or missing important medication dosages. In these cases, proving negligence involves establishing that the harm would not have occurred if standard care practices had been followed.
Common Types of Negligence in Care Settings
Negligence takes various forms in the caregiving environment. Recognizing these types can be helpful in identifying whether a caregiver or facility has breached its duty of care:
- Neglect of Basic Needs: Failing to provide food, water, or medical attention.
- Medical Negligence: Not providing necessary medications or failing to recognize signs of distress.
- Environmental Hazards: Poor facility conditions like unclean areas, slippery floors, or dangerous obstacles.
- Emotional Neglect: Ignoring residents’ calls for help or failing to provide social interaction, which can lead to emotional trauma.
- Improper Supervision: Not preventing falls or injuries that could have been avoided through attentive care.
Each of these types of negligence can lead to physical, emotional, or psychological harm, particularly in nursing homes where residents may be unable to advocate for themselves. When these situations happen, it often falls to family members and loved ones to recognize the harm that’s occurring and take the appropriate actions.
What is Malpractice?
Malpractice, sometimes referred to as professional negligence, involves a failure by a professional to meet the established standards within their field, resulting in harm. Unlike general negligence, malpractice involves licensed professionals—often doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers—making decisions that deviate from accepted professional standards. When comparing medical negligence vs malpractice, malpractice generally requires conscious choices that fall below professional expectations, such as skipping necessary tests or treatments or misdiagnosing a patient.
To successfully pursue a malpractice claim, the harmed party must demonstrate that the professional not only made a mistake but did so in a way that other qualified professionals would not. In medical settings, malpractice cases are notoriously complex and require significant evidence, expert testimonies, and sometimes affidavits of merit. They also involve higher legal standards, making it essential for victims to work with specialists in this field, especially for hospital-based incidents.
Negligence vs Medical Malpractice in Nursing Homes
In nursing home settings, cases of negligence vs malpractice often overlap, especially when medical care and general caregiving tasks are provided by staff. Here, negligence might apply when a nursing home staff member neglects to assist with a resident’s basic needs, causing harm or distress. Alternatively, medical malpractice might occur if a licensed nurse knowingly ignores standard medical protocols, such as failing to administer a critical medication at the right time and/or in the right dosage, if they deliver it at all.
In Ohio and Kentucky, there are specific regulations governing nursing homes that protect residents from both negligence and medical malpractice. Unfortunately, these facilities are often understaffed or improperly trained, leading to a high risk of injury. When choosing an attorney for a nursing home negligence case, it’s critical that you choose someone who understands both state regulations and the nuances of how negligence differs from malpractice in this setting.
Examples of Negligence in Nursing Homes
Some of the most common forms of nursing home negligence include:
- Neglecting Hygiene: Failing to bathe residents or change their clothes, which can lead to infections and poor health.
- Understaffing and Overworking: A common issue leading to negligence, as staff may be stretched thin and unable to properly monitor all residents.
- Physical Restraint Abuse: Using restraints unnecessarily or not monitoring residents while restrained can lead to injury and trauma.
- Lack of Supervision for Mobility-Impaired Residents: When caregivers fail to help residents move safely, the risk of falls increases, often resulting in serious injuries like fractures or head trauma.
Examples of Medical Malpractice in Nursing Homes
While The Richards Firm does not handle medical malpractice cases, it’s important to understand the scenarios that would fall under malpractice in a nursing home context. Examples include:
- Medication Errors: When a doctor prescribes or a nurse administers incorrect medications, leading to severe health complications.
- Failure to Diagnose: If a licensed medical professional in a nursing home fails to recognize a serious health issue that other professionals would have identified.
- Surgical Mistakes: In cases where minor procedures are conducted within nursing facilities, errors can sometimes occur, leading to additional health concerns.
Reviewing the Key Legal Differences Between Negligence vs Malpractice
Negligence and malpractice share many similarities, and some cases may involve both negligence and medical malpractice. They are, however, not the same. Here are the key areas where they differ:
- Standard of Proof: Malpractice cases usually need affidavits and expert testimonies to prove the professional’s actions fell short of their industry’s standards. Negligence, however, typically focuses on whether a reasonable person would have taken more precaution.
- Professional Status: Malpractice claims apply specifically to licensed professionals like doctors or registered nurses, while negligence can apply to any caregiver, regardless of their professional standing.
- Legal Consequences: Malpractice can affect a professional’s license or standing, while negligence may lead to fines or penalties without impacting licensure.
For nursing home residents and their families, this distinction can affect the way they seek justice and compensation. Working with an experienced attorney to assess negligence or malpractice claims allows families to pursue the most effective legal route based on the specifics of the incident.
Choosing an Attorney for Your Case
If you or a loved one has experienced harm in a nursing home, caregiving facility, or similar institution, it’s important that you take immediate and appropriate action. It’s equally critical that you understand whether it’s negligence vs malpractice.
At The Richards Firm, we focus on advocating for victims of negligence, helping families secure compensation for injuries caused by carelessness, oversight, or unsafe facility practices. We don’t handle cases involving explicit medical malpractice. However, we’re happy to connect clients with specialized medical malpractice attorneys who can best pursue those claims.
If you’re not sure where you situation falls, we can help with that too. We offer free consultations where we can discuss the nuances between negligence vs malpractice. From there, we can help you decide what the best path forward is for your needs. If it’s a negligence case, and you’re in need of an attorney, we’ll take on your case and quickly go to work for your needs. You don’t owe anything unless we win your case.
If we determine that you have a medical malpractice case on your hands, we can help guide you to a law firm better suited for your needs.
When you work with The Richards Firm, you can always expect a compassionate, personalized approach that provides individualized support through each step of the legal process. Click here to contact us today and schedule your free consultation.