Chapter 8: Legal Considerations in Sports Medicine

Question 1

Malpractice

Answer 1

liability-generating conduct associated with the adverse outcome of the patient treatment

Question 2

Breach of Contract

Answer 2

an unexcused failure to perform the services specified in a contract, either formal or informal

Question 3

Tort

Answer 3

legal wrong, other than breach of contract, for which a remedy will be provided, usually in monetary damages

Question 4

Negligence

Answer 4

type of tort in which ATC fails to act as a reasonably prudent ATC would under the circumstances

Question 5

Omission

Answer 5

failure to act when there was a legal duty to do so

Question 6

Commission

Answer 6

an action that violates a legal duty

Question 7

Abandonment

Answer 7

desertion of a patient-practitioner relationship by the health care provider without the consent of the patient

Question 8

Standard of Care

Answer 8

legal duty to provide health care services consistent with what other health care practitioners of the same training, education, and credentialing would provide under the circumstances

Question 9

Actual Cause

Answer 9

degree tow which a health care practitioner’s actions are associated with the adverse outcomes of a patient’s care

Question 10

Proximate (Legal) Cause

Answer 10

degree to which the harm caused by a health care practitioner was foreseeable

Question 11

Foreseeability

Answer 11

ability to project the likely outcome of an act

Question 12

Medical Practice Act

Answer 12

state law regulating the practice of medicine, usually by specifying who may practice and under what circumstances

Question 13

Licensure

Answer 13

form of state credentialing established by statue and intended to protect the public, that regulates the practice of a trade or profession by specifying who may practice and what duties they may perform

Question 14

Certification

Answer 14

form or title protection established by state law or sponsored by professional associations, designed to ensure that practitioners have essential knowledge and skills sufficient to protect the public

Question 15

Registration

Answer 15

type of state credentialing that requires qualified members of a profession to register with the state in order to practice

Question 16

Exemption

Answer 16

legislative mechanism used to release members of one profession from the liability of violating another profession’s practice act

Question 17

Risk Management

Answer 17

process designed to prevent losses of all kinds for everyone associated with an organization, including its directors, administrators, employees, and clients

Question 18

Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

Answer 18

blueprint for handling emergencies that helps establish accountability for their management

Question 19

Drug Administration

Answer 19

provision of a single dose of medication to a patient by order of physician

Question 20

Drug Dispensing

Answer 20

preparing and packaging medication for subsequent use by a patient

Question 21

Over-the-Counter Medication (OTC)

Answer 21

medication that can be purchased without a physician’s prescription

Question 22

Statues of Limitations

Answer 22

laws that fix a certain length of time beyond which legal actions can’t be initiated

Question 23

Sovereign (Governmental) Immunity

Answer 23

legal doctrine that holds that neither governments nor their agents can be held liable for negligent actions

Question 24

Assumption of Risk

Answer 24

legal defense that attempts to claim that an injured plaintiff understood the risk of an activity and chose to undertake the activity regardless of the hazards associated with it

Question 25

Good Samaritan Laws

Answer 25

statues intended to shield certain health care practitioners from certain types of legal liability when they voluntarily come to the aid of injured or ill persons under specific conditions

Question 26

Comparative Negligence

Answer 26

legal doctrine intended to determine the degree to which a plaintiff contributed to the harm caused by a defendant

Question 27

Testimony

Answer 27

legally binding statements offered as evidence to the facts in a legal proceeding

Question 28

Subpoena

Answer 28

legal authority used to compel a person to provide testimony