While walking together in the hospital corridor, the patient's wife slipped and fell on some water that a nurse had just spilled on the floor. The visitor fractured her arm. Again, examine these four elements. The nurse had no professional duty to the patient's wife. The nurse may be negligent for failing to clean the spill.
Ordinary negligence differs, however, from professional negligence.
If the patient's wife brings a negligence claim, the nurse will be covered by the hospital's general liability insurance policy, not a malpractice policy. Also, the visitor may have some comparative negligence for failing to watch her step and see the liquid. The liquid spilled on the floor contributed to the visitor's fall and injury. But the nurse isn't guilty of malpractice because the situation doesn't satisfy all four elements.