Involuntary automaticity: a potential legal defence against an allegation of clinical negligence?

Toft, B. and Gooderham, Peter 2009. Involuntary automaticity: a potential legal defence against an allegation of clinical negligence? Quality and Safety in Health Care 18 (1) , pp. 69-73. 10.1136/qshc.2007.024273

Preview

PDF Download (138kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: It has been argued that the safety of patients can be put at risk because the verbal challenge—response protocols, frequently used by healthcare professionals—can be compromised by the system of work in use and the operational environment. Individuals who constantly undertake verbal double-checking safety protocols, when subjected to adverse operational conditions such as high workloads, strict time constraints and high levels of stress, can be captured by a so-called “involuntary automaticity.” Conclusion: Evidence suggests that involuntary automaticity could be used as a potential legal defence, against an allegation of clinical negligence, where the healthcare professional concerned had warned their management that the conditions in which they worked could promote the phenomenon, and no remedial actions had been taken by them.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Publisher:	BMJ
ISSN:	1475-3898
Last Modified:	08 May 2023 13:41
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/18781

Citation Data

Cited 7 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item