Understanding Scandalous Accountability & Medical Error: Why Criminal Responsibility? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Scandalous accountability refers to a persons capability to comprehend their behavior during the moment of committing a crime. The understanding refers to what a person thinks or anticipates when they commit a crime. Criminal law acts on the knowledge of the mental state of the crime committed. The medical error refers to a avoidable unpleasant consequence of therapeutic heed, whether evident or not presents harm to the patient. This paper gives an argument on why criminal responsibility should not be given to medical doctors and nurses for medical errors.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The concept of loss of life during the medical malpractices presents a painful story to the family and friends of the victim of medical errors. The most significant questions remain if there should be criminal responsibility for medical errors. Mistakes in life represent an inevitable concept in daily activities of human beings. Still, perhaps when the errors snatch the presence of humans, there exists a need to rethink the idea of "error is to human." (Higuchi). Medical malpractice touches the actions of not only doctors, but the practice of nurses and other health practitioners bestowed the mandate of ensuring the welfare of the patient from the time of admission to the recovery.

Medical practitioners owe their patients a responsibility that they swear on medical oaths of work, and the breach of these oaths should attract a legal procedure by the management of the medical facilities or the friends and families of the victims of medical malpractice (Higuchi). Currently, medical errors refer to the omission by a therapeutic professional during treatment that violates the acceptable standards. These activities attract justice through a court process because the negligence presents a criminal law that needs the jury to determine if the error occurred as a result of medical negligence, which constitutes a chargeable offense.

The Dangers of Medical Errors

Medical malpractices represent a severe medical problem and pose a threat to the safety of patients in health centers. Human beings constitute vulnerable beings, and the errors experienced in medical facilities emerge costly from the economic and social perspectives. Errors fall under different classification depending on their outcome, procedures involved, and the likelihood of occurrence. The problem of medical errors dates back to the early 1950s (McKenna, Brittany, and Jennifer Levitas). There exist evidence of efforts by medical practitioners and stakeholders in the health sector to curb the quagmire of medical malpractices.

There exist various medical errors that occur during the treatment process and affects medical care significantly. Among the ordinary happenings in the treatment process include under and overtreatment, misdiagnosis, wrong prescriptions, adverse drug events, improper transfusion, wrong sight surgeries, patient confusion, surgical injuries, and wrong-site surgeries (McKenna et al.). The intensive care units, emergency department, and operation theatres experience the highest probability of medical errors with adverse effects on the patients. Medical errors are associated with age, the severity of medical conditions being treated, urgency, and the emergence of new procedures in the medical arenas.

Medical errors represent the sixth leading cause of deaths in the United States of America, according to statistics by The Institute Of Medicine. The statistics attributed 98,000 deaths to a result of medical malpractice, and the statistics continued to presents more worries in 2010 that yielded double the number of deaths resulting from medical negligence (McKenna et al.). However, these numbers only represent estimates because medical records never give precise and accurate data, but the figures still call for action.

Criminal Liability Elements in Medical Errors

Discussion of illegal requires the definition of criminal liability necessary of finding a medical practioner guilty of the offense. There exist the legal duties of physicians in the provision of health services that meets the expectations of the patient (Sepec). The concept of care arises as a result of criminal culpability worsens when the emergency worsens during the treatment process. The most important question remains if a medical error should remain a criminal offense, and if the decision upholds, the people need to ask what circumstance the errors need criminalization.

The Impact of Medical Errors

Medical errors may result from ugly human errors or systemic issues. This notion should not blind the masses from recognizing the adverse effects medical errors pose to the family and the patients of medication error victims ("Impact Of Medication Errors On Patients, Healthcare Providers And Hospitals - Qlicksmart - Sharps Safety Solutions For Surgical And Medical Professionals"). These errors affect not only the patients but also the physicians through psychological, mental, and emotional torture. These impacts affect different stakeholders.

Health Care Personnel

The physicians and nurses who administer the wrong medication and cause medical errors in their practice undergo various suffering that the general masses and the people judging them may not realize. The practitioners face shame, guilt, and self-doubt as a result of the mistakes that leads to medical errors. These cases can go to levels of denial, and sometimes the feeling of guilt engulfs the physicians ("Impact Of Medication Errors On Patients, Healthcare Providers And Hospitals - Qlicksmart - Sharps Safety Solutions For Surgical And Medical Professionals"). This consequence comprises of the second victim and leads to cases of suicide. The embarrassing situation the medical practitioners undergo makes them fail to continue generally with their professionalism. In many instances, some of the doctors and nurses end up quitting their practice as a result of guilt.

Medical Facilities

The cases of medical error cause a significant threat to medical institutions in cases where the victims of negligence decide to sue the facility rather than pursuing the medical practioner res[ponsible for the act that causes harm to their victims. The hospitals face legal fees and possibly incur further losses in a quest to settle the damages caused to the victim by their practitioners. The hospital suffers time wastage and tiresome process when trying to investigate the causes of medical malpractice and possible remedies for the same concept ("Impact Of Medication Errors On Patients, Healthcare Providers And Hospitals - Qlicksmart - Sharps Safety Solutions For Surgical And Medical Professionals"). The legal proceedings at times get broadcasted media platforms that contribute to tarnishing the right name of such institutions and also contribute to the loss of customers for the facility.

Patients And Their Families

The effect of medical may appear as an ordinary thing. Still, in the real sense, there exist extreme cases where the death of the victims occurs or serious life injuries that appear irreversible. The loss of people presents a hurting condition to friends and families ("Impact Of Medication Errors On Patients, Healthcare Providers And Hospitals - Qlicksmart - Sharps Safety Solutions For Surgical And Medical Professionals"). The patients, in some cases of medical errors, constitute the family breadwinners, and their death means suffering to those who depend on such persons.

Medical Practices as a Criminal Offense

Medical malpractices turn to a criminal offense in severe cases and especially cases that lead to the death of patients. The end of people without any malice may be considered manslaughter if there exists evidence of grossly negligent behavior from the practitioners (Merry). The action of the physician and their outcome, in most cases, determine the course criminal offense circumstances. Raising examples of medical errors requires the law to establish the conduct of the physician during the time of the practice.

Scientific and Empirical Data on Medical Errors

There exist various sources on harm caused to the patient by mistakes performed by the physicians. These include a series of reviews collected in hospitals and court cases filed by the victims and friends of the affected persons. The results obtained suggest several cases occur on acute admitted patients who constitute 10% of admission, contributing to permanent damage and death (Merry). The problem presents a similar magnitude in statistics across the world, and this calls for action by the organization responsible for ensuring the safety of the patients in the hospitals.

Causes of Medical Errors

There exist various roots of medical errors experienced in many facilities across the nations. The study of these causes of medical error represents an important step that helps in devising ways of curbing future occurrences of medical mistakes (Hopkins). Through working hard to eliminate medical errors, the health care system stands a chance to grow and avoid frustrations that arise from the malpractices of doctors and nurses. These errors occur from avoidable and unavoidable circumstances. The patient, at times, contributes to medical errors despite physicians carrying the blame. These causes include:

Technical Failures

These constitute a failure of specialized apparatus used in the hospitals and clinics. The failure of the machines during severe conditions contribute to risks to the patients (Hopkins). Some of the devices used in hospitals like cancer screening machines constitute the use of ultraviolet rays that cause adverse effects to the body in case they don't function as expected.

Inadequate Flow of Information Within the System

Information flow in an organization represents a very vital element in ensuring the coordination of a firm due to the existence of a different department. The concept of treatment constitutes coordination between various departments (Hopkins). The gap in the flow of information between the departments in a medical institution contributes to the wrong medication or inadequate administration of medical services to the patient.

Organizational Transfer of Knowledge

The insufficiencies of organizations arise from training and inconsistencies that result from unqualified medical practitioners (Hopkins). The transfer of knowledge proves helpful in cases where the medical facilities absorb new employees fresh from training facilities. The concept of inadequate experience makes the new employees experience some challenges in situations that require higher expertise.

The Cost of Medical Errors

The cost of medical errors caused to patients constitutes a gap in the health system that a sober mind needs to realize. The amount of damage caused to patients leaves some families deprived of their financial resources, and some opt to take loans from the banks with the aims of salvaging the medical conditions of the victims. The loss makes the patients lose patience with the caregivers and health facilities (Palmer). The average cost of medical errors in the United States of America adds up to at least 800$ per admission, and the report continues to indicate that the risk continues to rise in facilities outside the hospitals such as home-based care.

The report also notes that most of the victims who experienced medical errors continue to suffer long term untold pains, which render them economically unproductive (Palmer). The culture of not talking about the medical atrocities continue to make implementing the measure hard for medical facilities. The employees fear to report the risk factors such as faulty equipment for fear of losing their jobs.

Failure to Follow Standards of Care

The evolution of hospital policies continues protecting consumers from substandard care. The medical boards regulate medical practices in different coun...