Dr. Jones is a dentist who has his own practice. He employs several dental hygie

Question

Dr. Jones is a dentist who has his own practice. He employs several dental hygienists at his office to sanitize and assemble the dental equipment and perform the initial check on the patients, prior to Dr. Jones examining them. Rachel is a dental hygienist in Dr. Jones’s office. She has a one-hour commute and usually arrives five minutes late to work, depending on the traffic. Although there are specific regulations when it comes to sanitizing dental equipment, Rachel hastily runs through the hygiene process each morning, sometimes skipping a few steps, because she knows there are patients sitting in the waiting room. She quickly washes her hands and the dental tools with lukewarm water, and proceeds to examine a sixteen-year-old boy named Kevin. Kevin is visiting the dentist for a routine checkup – he does not have any aches and pains, nor does he have any cavities. One month later, Kevin consults Dr. Jones about gum swelling, a fever, and bleeding abscesses in the mouth - all cardinal signs of an infection. Dr. Jones urges him to come to the office right away to get examined. While there is truly an infection present, Dr. Jones discovers that Kevin also has gum disease. Kevin is outraged because he did not have gum disease or any of the other symptoms at his last visit a few weeks ago. The injured plaintiff decides to take Dr. Jones to court, suing for malpractice.

Please identify whether the elements for a negligence action have been satisfied so that the injured party may file a law suit.

Explanation / Answer

Elements for a negligence action are there and are as follows:
1.   Not delivering the duty of care as Kevin went to the clinic for a routine checkup. But, he was examined in hurry without taking proper care. Rachel could not follow the proper procedures to sterile the equipment and device used for check ups of Kevin.
2.   Breach of duty has been done by Rachel as she violated the guidelines
3.   Not delivering duty with care is the cause that led to the infection and gum problems faced by Kevin. If Rachel could have done her job properly, Kevin will not be in trouble.
4.   It has caused damage to Kevin as proper duty would not make him to suffer. Thus, he can claim the damage.
Thus, All the elements of negligence in action are present to file a case.

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