Medical Abandonment
In general, the meaning of the term abandonment means the forsaking of one's duty. Thus when a practitioner client relation gets established there is a 'duty of care' which includes the protection of the client, maintain records of the clients, and to always provide the client with due care with maximum application of the physicians skills. If one or all these have been breached, there is deficiency of service. However if the relationship is broken because of non-functioning from the part of the physician then there is abandonment. (Davis, 2008)
Medical abandonment is a concept that is broadly covered under the malpractice laws. Medical malpractice is found to have been taken cognizance of in the British and American laws for a century now. The Second World War and aftermath saw the expansions of the concept and the possibility of physician liability. It also was broadened by the reinterpretation off the res ipsa loquitur doctrine. (Donald, 1978-1979) A practitioner may be found guilty and made liable to pay damages for a wrongful termination of a treatment or abandonment. There is a requisite of a medical relationship, that required a particular standard of care, and that abandonment did occur. Thus to prove abandonment there must be evidence to show that the action of the provider was done without a valid reason and sufficient notice of the withdrawal of service to the patient. If there was no time for the client to obtain alternate care without notice it is abandonment. Suits that rely on abandonment have to be based on the fact that the injury complained of directly was a result of the practice of the care giver. (Davis, 2008)
Ingredients:
There must have thus been a client and care giver relationship that required further treatment or care which has been abruptly halted without notice to the patient. Thus abandonment can also be the abrupt withdrawal from the patient even for a time without giving an alternate. If for example a private practitioner leaves for another place on a tour without providing a patient being treated by him with an alternate physician inn his place until he returns commits abandonment and if this absence leads too some deterioration to the patient the liability sets in. Thus the entire issue can centre on the relation and the position that the care giver and the client stand at any given time. If the purpose of the care is not yet fulfilled the care giver must continue with the care until the proposed cure or benefit is affected. Thus until the treatment comes to a full close and the patient is not in need of the care giver, the obligations of the care giver is given. When the care giver defaults there is negligence and also a medical abandonment.
Negligence:
Medical abandonment goes hand in hand with negligence. Thus the ultimate test is to see if there was negligence, or seen in another way, was there an ending of the treatment prematurely. Because abandonment can also be defined as ending a therapy or process without giving the client proper notice to expect the end of the relationship. Exception to this rule is that if a practitioner is terminated by the hospital through which the practitioner is treating a patient, the practitioner is not obliged to work further and hence there cannot be an accusation of client abandonment. However the onus lies on the care giving hospital to give notice to the patient or provide with an alternate practitioner immediately.
In deciding the cases therefore courts always have looked into the actions of the care giver to see if there was first, negligence and then if there was a harm that resulted from the withdrawal to the patient. It connotes that if the withdrawal of service resulted in a chain of the patient being harmed; it is negligence and also may be seen as abandonment when no further services were provided...
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