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Professional vs. Ordinary Negligence in the Health Care Setting

By Michael C. Ksiazek
June 28, 2011
  • A patient falls on a wet floor in a hospital emergency room.
  • A patient is sexually assaulted by a hospital employee.
  • An unattended diabetic patient falls off an examination table.
  • An unattended paraplegic patient falls off an x-ray table.
  • A stroke victim falls out of bed while being transported.

Do the above factual scenarios sound like professional negligence or simple garden-variety negligence? In many jurisdictions, the answer has not been entirely clear. This often leaves litigants and their attorneys to play a guessing game as to how the case will be categorized, with legal consequences for coming to the wrong conclusion.

Perhaps it's time for a change.

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