Medical Negligence and Legal Case

This assignment presents a medical negligence scenario where a patient named Sofie undergoes an abdominoplasty procedure performed by Dr. Lin. The case involves several key issues: Dr. Lin's decision to proceed with the surgery despite Sofie exhibiting symptoms of illness (forgetfulness and elevated temperature), the failure to obtain proper informed consent, and the subsequent death of Sofie a week after the successful surgery. Students are tasked with analyzing this case from a legal perspective, examining potential arguments for both Joseph and Cindy (Sofie's husband and mother) suing Dr. Lin, as well as potential defenses Dr. Lin could raise. Ethical considerations surrounding medical practice and patient autonomy should also be discussed.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing Assignment
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Authors note:

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This essay demonstrates the legal action that would be taken against Dr. Lin. And the
elements of the offence that Joseph and Cindywould need need to prove for the action to be
successful. It includes the the standard of proof that should be given by them in this case. The
essay deals with the defence that Dr Lin could raise and the possible outcomes of this case.It
also includes the two principles that are relevant in this scenario with reference to Beauchamp
and Childress’ (2009).
1. If Joseph and Cindy decided to sue Dr Lin it would be law suit filed against the doctor for
medical negligence and the breach of duty care by the doctor. This is because she did not
perform any medical tests before proceeding with the surgery.They can make an allegation on
the doctor Ms Lin that she ignored her previous symptoms of forgetfulness and her elevated
temperature due to urinary tract infection and performed the abdominoplasty (Baum,
2014).Joseph and Cindy can sue the doctor on the basis of being negligent of the symptoms and
performing the surgery. They should provide the medical reports obtained after the autopsy of
Sofie to find the exact reason of death.This worsened the condition of Sophie and ultimately led
to her death. This is known as diagnostic mistake of Dr. Lin as she was in rush to perform the
surgery.
Joseph and Cindy need to file a case with the proof that the death of Sophie occurred due
to the surgery performed by Dr. Lin. They should take the help of an experienced defense
attorney and collect all the evidences of her medical reports including her condition and the
symptoms occurred before conducting the surgery. These reports of Sophie will act as the
standard of proof in this case.They can take the help of expert lawyers practicing in Singapore
who have excellent knowledge of professional, legal and ethical issues in the medical profession
(Cohen, 2013).They can help them in handling their matter in an effective manner.Joseph and

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Cindy can sue Dr Lin on the basis of Medical Malpractice and clainm for monetary
compensation. They can avail for revovery that is avaialble for victimsand their family members
suffering from medical negligience. The settlement is done on the basis of a large number of
factors such as the severity of the harm faced by the patient, the amount of money spend by the
patient in undergoing the surgery, the cost of life in th future of their husband and children due to
the loss of Sofie,lack of finance and suffering bthat would occur after the death of the earning
memeber in the family.On the basis of these grounds Josepgh nad Cindy can sue Dr, Lin and get
monetary compensation after winning the case (Cave, 2016).
2. The defense that Dr. Lin could raise can be by producing several evidences of the fact that the
cause of the death was not because of the actions of the medical doctor. The death of Sofie must
have occured due to any other medical reasons which was not related to the abdominoplasty that
she had undergone.Shge can also defend herself on the grounds that valid consent form that was
filled by the husband of Sophie, Joseph. She might fight for the reason that if, the operation did
not succeed, the she cannot be said to be negligent as it is already mentioned in the consent form
that the patient can die after the surgery (Herring, 2014). A consent acts as the basic right for a
patient to decide whether he or she wants the treatment or not. The decision of patient is
considered irrespective of the fact that if he denies the medical treatment, it may result in her
death.If a medical surgeon tries to perform a surgery without a proper consent from the patient,
then he or she is considered liable for criminal action and can be sued. Dr. Lin might provide the
consent by explaining that Sophie was not in a normal state to fill the consent form, so her
husband was asked to fill it.
3. The possible outcome of this case is that it is possible that Dr. Lin might win the case as it
cannot be proved that the treatment of Sophie by Dr. Lin was against the medical norms under

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prevailing the medical jurisprudence .It can also not be proved that Dr. Lin was negligent or
lacked in any manner while performing the surgery of the patient.Joseph and Cindy cannot
prove that the health of Sophie worsened due to the surgery that is abdominoplasty performed by
Dr. Lin The appeal of Joseph and Cindy might get dismissed on the basis of lack of proper
evidence and expert opinion produced by them to prove negligence of Dr. Lin (Terranova, 2016).
4. The two principles that are relevant in this scenario are the respect for autonomy and
beneficience. Respect for autonomy is one of the most important aspects in the field of medical
ethics. It involves respecting the decisions of the patient and the right to make his or her own
choice. In this case Dr. Lin asked Sophie whether she wants to proceed with the surgery of
abdomen or not and Sophie was very keen and agreed to proceed with it. But the doctor
completely forgot and did not ask Sophie to fill up the consent form. The appeal of Joseph and
Cindy might get dismissed.because only making an allegation on Dr. Lin will not make it a case
of negligence unless and until it is being proven by a proper and a reliable evidence (Furrow,
Greaney, Johnson, & Schwartz, 2014).
Beneficience means that the nurses should try their best in providing quality care that
would help in improving the health and well being of their patients .It refers that the doctors or
the clinicians should work towards the welfare and the benefit of the patients. They should try
their best to perform their duties and be responsible towards their patients. The health
professionals providing patient care should be responsible towards their patients as well towards
their family members (Ball, Murrells, Rafferty, & Griffiths, 2013). The clinicians should be
supportive and should provide guidelines on the various precautions to be taken. They should
also make sure they solve their problems and issues. They should provide appropriate health care
services by using proper communication skills and ensure patient satisfaction. They should

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provide proper counseling and psychosocial care to get rid of emotional health like pain, anxiety;
distress and low self esteem occurred due to the health issues.In this case Dr. Lin tried her best to
provide proper medication and care to Sophie before proceeding for the surgery. She was
administered a pre-operative medication so that she drifts off to sleep and does not feel the pain
of abdominoplasty and as a result the surgery was successful and Sophie was advised an
oververnight stay in hospital and was discharged home the next day (Daly & Jackson, 2017).
5. The conflict on the basis of the principls explained above are that Dr. Lin respected the choice
of Sophie and procceeded with the surgery only after knowing that she was keen on having
it.She did not force her to undergo abdominolplasty. But, her husband Joseph was not sure about
her decision and nodded his head when Dr. Lin said that she was having symptoms only due to
another urinary tract infection. Dr. Lin tried her best so that the surgery becomes successfiul and
provided propr care to Sophie (Turner, 2015) (Hube, 2013).
But the problem arose when after seven days of surgery, Sofie did not not recovered at all
from her surgery. She had an increased temperature, was suffering from high pulse rate and
became much more disorientated than she was before the surgery. She was transferred back to
hospital. Unfortunately, Sofie was suffering from a post-operative infection and sepsis. Despite
providing her proper care, her condition deteriorated in a rapid manner and Sofie passed
away.Hence, this incidence left Joseph nad Cindy devastated and they planned to sue Dr Lin for
the same.
6. According to Kerridge et al. (2013) model for ethical problem Joseph and Cindy can file a
case in the court against Dr. Lin on the basis of Law of Negligence as it requires a few more
factors other than care for the patient. It is important for Joseph and Cindy, who wish to sue Dr

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Lin in negligenc to show a few evidences that they owed her a legal duty to take care of Sophie
and she breached the legal duty given to her.She did not diagnose the medical condition of the
patient in a proper manner and did not understand the nature of the proposed cosmetological
procedure that is abdominoplasty that was proposed by her. Before proceeding with the surgery
she must have reesearched about the the risks that might occur in future due to proposed medical
treatment. Dr. Lin should must also have give a second thought about any other alternatives to
the proposed treatment, and the advantages and risks involved with those alternatives. Joseph
and Cindy should also show the proof that the breach caused them a lot of damage which led to
the death of Sofie (Wall & Morrison, 2014).But Joseph and Cindy did not proper evidence. But,
in this case Dr. Lin can defend herself by apealing that the death of Sofie did not occur duye the
cosmetological traet,ment that is abdominoplasty.It would have occured due to tyhe irinary tract
infection which she was already suffering from before.;
Hence, it can be concluded that Joseph and Cindy can sue Dr. Lin and file a case against
her as she performed abdominoplasty by giving antibiotics ,when Sofie was suffering from
forgetfulness and elevated temperature of the body. She also forgot to get the consent form filled
by Sofie and asked Joseph to fill the same.This led to the death of Sofie after a week even when
the surgery was successful and the sudden death of Sofie lead both Joseph and Cindy in shock.
They can ask for a monetary compensation by producing all the reports and medical bills to the
court. Dr. Lin can also defend herself by saying that by explaining the medical laws that Sophie
was not in a normal state to fill the consent form, so her husband was asked to fill it. She can
produce several poofs tha Sofie was provided proper care before and after the surgery and her
death is not necessary the result of abdominoplasty and it might have occured due to other
medical reasons.

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Bibliography
Ball, Murrells, Rafferty, & Griffiths, (2013). Care left undone’during nursing shifts: associations
with workload and perceived quality of care. . Quality and Safety in Health Care , bmjqs 2012.
Baum, (2014). Lessons to Be Learned from Patients and Colleagues. The Journal of medical
practice management , MPM, 30(1), 49.
Cave, (2016). Medicine, patients and the law. Oxford University Press.
Cohen. (2013). The globalization of health care: . legal and ethical issues. Oxford University
Press.
Daly, & Jackson, (2017). Contexts of nursing: An introduction. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Furrow, Greaney, Johnson, & Schwartz, (2014). Health law. West Academic.
Herring. (2014). Medical law and ethics. . Oxford University Press, USA.
Hube. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Terranova. (2016). Death after liposuction. In Liposuction. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. , (pp.
825-832). .
Turner (2015). The nursing code of ethics: Its value, its history. . OJIN: The Online Journal of
Issues in Nursing , , 20(2).
Wall, & Morrison,(2014). Bridging the theory practice gap through clinical simulations in a
nursing under-graduate degree program in Australia. International Journal of Learning,
Teaching and Educational Research , 8(1).

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