Four main conditions must exist for a contract law to be valid. The first condition is that both parties must be legally competent to enter the contract. Any contract with a mentally incompetent person is invalid (Showalter, 2020). The second condition is that there should be a meeting of minds whereby one party should offer to buy or sell, and the other party should accept the offer. The third condition is that consideration must be given for a contract to be valid (Showalter, 2020). A consideration is the reward to be given after the contract and must not always be in monetary form. For instance, a person may be promised a reward for doing something they would otherwise not have done or not to do something they would have done. The final condition is that the main purpose of the contract must be legal, which implies that it must align with the law.
Importance of Contract Law in the Relationships Between Patients and their Physicians and Between Patients and Healthcare Facilities
The main importance of contract law in relationships is that it defines the duties of each party under the contract. If there is a relationship between a patient and their physician, each of their obligations is contained in the contract law (Tomassetti, 2020). Even when a contract is entered between a physician and patient without the knowledge of the patient (if the patient is in a coma), each party has its obligations to fulfill. The other importance of contract law is ensuring the critical fulfillment of other obligation dates (Showalter, 2020). A contract between a patient and a physician or a patient and their health care facilities enables them to ensure critical fulfillment dates. Therefore, both parties can be involved in setting the critical dates, such as when to meet for an appointment, the contract period, and the conditions under which the contract can be terminated.
Contract Law is essential in healthcare relationships because it outlines the renewal dates and requirements. Under contract law, both the patient and the physician or the patient and the healthcare facility know when to renew their contract and the requirements (Showalter, 2020). For instance, if a patient has a chronic illness and then recovers after coming to a hospital, they will renew their contract if the chronic disease re-emerges. The contract law gives the parties legal disability disclaimers and other legal clauses (Tomassetti, 2020). All the parties know the delimits to the scope of rights and obligations which can be legally enforced. This acts as a protection and provides parameters exchange for both parties. Some standard legal clauses include that the physician should provide the most effective care to the patient and ensure the utmost positive outcome. Finally, contract law is essential because it highlights the services included in the contract (Tomassetti, 2020). If the patient has several complications which are supposed to be attended by different physicians, each physician will have the contract law. This ensures that there is no conflict of interest and that all patient needs are well addressed.
The Difference between Intentional Tort, Negligence, and Strict Liability
In medical practice, the word tort means committing a civil wrong unrelated to a contract but can injure another person, property, or reputation. An intentional tort is one of the categories of torts whereby a person commits a premeditated action that causes injury (Werro & Büyüksagis, 2021). The person committing the injury is right aware their actions will lead to unfavorable consequences. For instance, if a nurse knowingly gives a patient the wrong medication, it is an example of an intentional tort. This tort is not common in the healthcare sector, like negligence. Negligence is failing to do the right thing unknowingly (Showalter, 2020). This includes the cases of ignorance whereby one knows that action may lead to injury but declines to do what is right. For instance, under contract law, a physician who comes to work drunk and does not give a patient the proper care can be sued for negligence.
The third category is strict liability, when a person does an action that may injure others, but it was not due to negligence or intentionality. This malpractice, like negligence, is not common in the healthcare system (Showalter, 2020). The difference between the three categories is that intentional tort is premeditated; negligence is unintentional failure to do what is right, while strict liability is not intentional or out of negligence. This implies that their difference is based on the intention of the physician and its outcome.
Why a Case Alleging Breach of Contract is easier to Prove than Standard Negligence Case
It is easier to prove a breach of contract because it only requires access to the contract terms and performance and identifying the un-performing part. Therefore, in this case, one needs to compare the terms and performance to identify the party that has not met its obligations (Liddell et al., 2022). It is more difficult to prove negligence because it requires circumstantial, direct, and direct evidence (Liddell et al., 2022). Therefore, various circumstantial proofs must be provided in the negligence case. This is because the case is determined depending on the facts produced and relies on human judgment making it subjective. However, the breach of contract is procedural because the contract law is used as a checklist.
Elements of Proof Necessary for a Strong Negligence Case
There are five elements which include:
- Establishing duty of care – The plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant owed them a duty to care. If the plaintiff cannot prove it, then the case will not proceed (Liddell et al., 2022).
- Proving breach – The plaintiff has to prove that a breach of contract caused the injuries. If the plaintiff cannot prove a breach of the contract, it is not possible to prove negligence.
- Having documentation of injuries – The plaintiff must have the necessary documentation, which is essential in showing negligence. Therefore, the plaintiff requires this documentation to show that the defendant’s negligence was the cause of the injuries (Liddell et al., 2022). If there is inadequate or no documentation, it becomes hard for the plaintiff to prove negligence in a court of law.
- Comparative negligence – This is the degree to which the plaintiff played a role in causing the accident. If the plaintiff was involved in causing the accident, It might make the case more complicated.
- Tracking financial damages – The plaintiff has to prove that the accident caused financial losses. This information is important because it is required to determine the compensation the plaintiff will be given if they win the case.
References
Showalter, J.S. (2020). The law of healthcare administration (9th ed.). Health Administration Press.
Liddell, K., Skopek, J., Le Gallez, I., & Fritz, Z. (2022). Differentiating negligent standards of care in diagnosis. Medical Law Review, 30(1), 33–59. Web.
Tomassetti, J. (2020). Power in the employment relationship: Why contract law should not govern at-will employment. Economic Policy Institute. Web.
Werro, F., & Büyüksagis, E. (2021). The bounds between negligence and strict liability. Comparative Tort Law, 13(3), 186–213. Web.