What type of tort is committed when a medical assistant inadvertently causes harm to a patient by mishandling a sterile instrument?

When a medical assistant inadvertently causes harm to a patient by mishandling a sterile instrument, this situation reflects negligence. Negligence occurs when an individual fails to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances, leading to unintended harm. In the healthcare field, medical professionals have a duty to ensure that they use instruments and tools correctly and safely. If that duty is breached, such as through improper handling of a sterile instrument, resulting in patient harm, it constitutes negligence.

In this scenario, because the harm was unintentional and resulted from a lack of proper care, it fits squarely within the bounds of negligence, distinguishing it from other types of torts, such as battery (which implies intentional harm), assault (which involves a threat of harm), and defamation (which relates to damaging someone's reputation through false statements).