Chapter 5

Question 1

law of agency

Answer 1

the law that govern the relationship between a principle and his or her agent

Question 2

liable

Answer 2

legally responsible or obligated

Question 3

respondeat superior

Answer 3

literally, “let the master answer.” a doctrine under which an employer is legally liable for the acts of his or her employees, if such acts were performed within the scope of the employees’ duties

Question 4

standard of care

Answer 4

the level of performance expected of a health care practitioner in carrying and his or her professional duties

Question 5

duty of care

Answer 5

the legal obligation of health care workers to patients and sometime nonpatients

Question 6

reasonable persons standard

Answer 6

the standard of behavior that judges a person’s actions in a situation according to what a reasonable person would or would not do under similar circumstances

Question 7

malfeasence

Answer 7

the performance of a totally wrongful or unlawful act

Question 8

misfeasence

Answer 8

the performance of a lawful act in an illegal or improper manner

Question 9

nonfeasence

Answer 9

the failure to act when one should

Question 10

res ipsa logquitur

Answer 10

“the thing speaks for itself” also known as the doctrine of common knowledge. a situation that is so obviously negligent that no expert witnesses need to be called

Question 11

damages

Answer 11

court-ordered monetary awards to patients, given as a result of legally recognized injuries to patients

Question 12

wrongful death statutes

Answer 12

state statutes that allow a persons beneficiaries to collect for loss to the estate of the deceased for future earnings when a death is judged to have been due to negligence

Question 13

summons

Answer 13

a written notification issued by the clerk of the court and delivered with a copy of the complaint to the defendant in a lawsuit, directing him or her to respond to the charges brought in a court of law

Question 14

subpoena

Answer 14

a legal document requiring the recipient to appear as a witness in court or to give deposition

Question 15

deposititon

Answer 15

sworn testimony given and recorded outside the courtroom during the pretrial phase of the case

Question 16

interrogatory

Answer 16

a written set of questions requiring written answers from a plaintiff or defendant under oath

Question 17

subpoena duces tecum

Answer 17

a legal document requiring the recipient to bring certain written records to court to be used as evidence in a lawsuit

Question 18

testimony

Answer 18

statements sworn to under oath by witnesses testifying in court and giving depositions

Question 19

alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Answer 19

settlement of civil disputes between parties using neutral mediators or arbitrators without going to court

Question 20

consent

Answer 20

permission from a person, either expressed or implied, for something to be done by another

Question 21

doctrine of informed concent

Answer 21

the legal basis for informed consent, usually outlined in a stat’s medical practice acts

Question 22

good Samaritan acts

Answer 22

state laws protecting physicians and sometimes other health care practitioners and laypersons from charges of negligence or abandonment if they stop to help the victim of an accident or other emergency