What is the legal term for failing to complete a task that a similarly trained health professional would have done, resulting in injury to the patient?

• A. Negligence
• B. Malpractice
• C. Injustice
• D. Fraud

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that health care providers have a responsibility to meet a standard of care. When a reasonable, similarly trained professional would have performed a task and did not, and that failure leads to injury, that is negligence. It describes not exercising the care that a prudent professional would in the same situation, which results in harm to the patient.

Malpractice is a specific form of negligence tied to a professional duty; it’s essentially professional negligence. The stem points to the general failure to perform a required task, so negligence is the best, broad term to capture this scenario. Injustice and Fraud don’t fit: injustice is a broader social or moral wrong, and fraud involves intentional deception for gain, not a failure to perform a duty that causes harm.