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Ethics & Law · single question

Which of the following best illustrates PROXIMATE CAUSE in a dental negligence claim?

  1. A procedure performed below the standard of care that directly injured the patient
  2. Dropping a cotton plier on the patient's chest with no resulting injury
  3. Running behind schedule so that the patient waited an hour
  4. Extracting a tooth without first obtaining consent
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. A procedure performed below the standard of care that directly injured the patient

  • A. CORRECT. Proximate cause is the third element of negligence: the breach of duty must be the direct and foreseeable cause of the patient's actual injury. A substandard procedure that produced demonstrable harm links the breach to the damages, which is exactly what proximate cause requires.
  • B. There is a breach of the standard of care but NO damages. Without injury there is no negligence claim, however careless the act.
  • C. Inconvenience without physical or financial injury does not constitute compensable damages.
  • D. Treating without consent is BATTERY — an intentional tort — not negligence. It does not require proof of proximate cause or of departure from the standard of care.

Note: The four elements of negligence, all of which must be proven: DUTY (a doctor–patient relationship existed), BREACH (care fell below the standard), CAUSATION (the breach caused the harm), DAMAGES (actual injury resulted). Remember them as the 4 Ds.

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