2.8. Legal Matters and Complaints Nursing & midwifery records, diaries, birth plans and anything that makes reference to the care of the patient or client may be required as evidence to investigate a complaint, adverse or criminal incident or by the NMC Fitness to Practice Committee. In negligence and malpractice law, the nursing records would be used as the most reliable source of evidence regarding quality of nursing care delivered. It is a part of the Health Record which is used as legal evidence of treatment. As often a significant period of time has passed and an individual’s recall may not be as dependable, accurate record keeping may protect against a lawsuit (Dimmond 2011).