Legal Flashcards

1
Q

Sources of law are:

A
  • Constitution & the bill of rights
  • Common Law
  • Administrative law
  • Legislation and Statutes – nursing practice acts
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2
Q

Who determines the legislation statutes

Do nurses have control over it?

A
  • City, State, Federal government

- Yes!

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3
Q

What body regulates and enforces nursing practice act

A

State Board of Nursing - administrative law

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4
Q

A decision made in one case can affect decisions made in later similar cases
“Judge-made law”
This is called?

A

Common Law

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5
Q

3 Types of laws are:

A
  • Public
  • Criminal
  • Private/Civil
  • Tort
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6
Q

Public law entails

A

individuals and government

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7
Q

Criminal law entails

A

Deals with actions against the safety and welfare of the public

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8
Q

Private/Civil Law entails

A

Between private individuals

Contract

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9
Q

Tort Law

A

Defines and enforces duties and rights among private individuals that are NOT based on contractual agreements

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10
Q

Examples of tort laws applicable to nursing:

A

Negligence and Malpractice
Invasion of privacy
Assault and battery

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11
Q

How does constitution affect nursing

A
  • due process

- equal protection

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12
Q

How does statutory (legislative) law affect nursing

A
  • Nurse Practice Acts
  • Good Samaritan acts
  • Child and Adult abuse laws
  • Living wills
  • Sexual harassment laws
  • American with Disabilities acts
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13
Q
  • Homicide
  • Manslaughter
  • Theft
  • Arson
  • Active euthanasia
  • Sexual assault
  • Illegal possession of controlled drugs
A

Criminal/Public Law

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14
Q
  • Nurse and employer
  • Nurse and client
  • Nurse and insurance
  • Client and agency
A

Contracts (Private/Civil)

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15
Q
Negligence/Malpractice
Libel and slander
Invasion of privacy
Assault and battery
False imprisonment
Abandonment
A

Torts (Private/Civil)

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16
Q

Civil Judicial Process:

A

1) Complaint: plaintiff and defedant
2) Answer
3) Discovery
4) Trial
5) Judge = decision
6) Jury = verdict

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17
Q

Deal with the relationship among individuals in society

A

Civil Actions

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18
Q

Deals with dispute between an individual and the society as a whole

A

Criminal Actions

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19
Q

Laws that govern nursing practice

A

Nurse Practice Acts

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20
Q

The skills and learning commonly possessed by members of a profession
Purpose: To protect the consumer

A

Standards of Care

21
Q

Examples of internal standards of care

A

Nurses job description
Education
Expertise
Institutional Policies and Procedures

22
Q

Nurse Practice Acts
Professional Organizations
ANA, etc.
Nursing Specialty – Practice Organizations
ONS, CCRN, ENA, etc
Federal Organizations and Federal Guidelines
Joint Commission, DHS, etc.

A

Examples of External Standards of Care

23
Q

What a reasonable and prudent professional with similar preparation and experience would do in similar circumstances

A

Standards of Care

24
Q

Refer to the nurse’s duty of care, that is, duty to render care, established by the presence of an expressed or implied contract

Example: An unconscious patient in brought into the ER; they expect care and YOU the health professional are EXPECTED to give care

A

Contractual Obligations

25
Q

The nurse’s contract with the patients is an ______ ______

A nurse who is employed by a hospital works as an _______ of the hospital

A
  • implied contract

- agent

26
Q

Implies that significant benefits and risks of any procedure, as well as alternative methods of treatment, have been explained

Person has had time to ask questions and have these answered

Person has agreed to the treatment voluntarily and is legally competent to give consent

Communication is in a language known to the patient

A

Informed consent

27
Q

The individual’s non-verbal behavior indicates agreement

A

Implied consent

28
Q

an oral or written agreement.

A

expressed consent

29
Q

An act committed in violation of public (criminal) law and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.

A

Crimes

30
Q

A crime of a serious nature, such as murder, punishable by a term in prison
In some areas, second-degree murder is called manslaughter
A nurse who accidentally gives a lethal dose of a narcotic can be accused of manslaughter

A

FELONY

31
Q

An offense of a less serious nature and is usually punishable by a fine or short-term jail sentence, or both

A nurse who slaps a patient’s face could be charged with a _________

A

MISDEMEANOR

32
Q

TORTS

A

A civil wrong committed against a person or a person’s property

Usually litigated in court by civil action between individuals

33
Q

Tort liability almost always is based on fault

There are two kinds of fault:

A

An unreasonable act of commission (something that was done incorrectly)

Act of omission (something that should have been done was not done)

34
Q

2 unintentional torts are:

A
  • malpractice

- negligence

35
Q

5 intentional torts:

A
  • fraud
  • invasion of privacy
  • libel and slander
  • assault and battery
  • false imprisonment
36
Q

“Omission to do something that a reasonable person, guided by those ordinary considerations which ordinarily regulate human affairs would do, or doing something which a reasonable and prudent person would not do”.

A

Negligence

37
Q

part of the law of negligence as applied to the professional person

A

Malpractice

38
Q

Any professional misconduct, unreasonable lack of skill, or lack of fidelity in professional duties
Accidentally giving wrong medication
Forgetting to give correct medication
Instilling wrong strength of eye drops into the patient’s eyes
Proof of intent to do harm is not required in acts of commission or omission

A

Malpractice

39
Q
Sponge counts
Burns
Falls
Failure to observe and take appropriate action
Wrong medicine
Mistaken identity
Failure to communicate
Loss of or damage to patient's property
A

Example of negligence

40
Q

Refers to the negligent acts of persons engaged in professions or occupations in which highly technical or professional skills are employed

A

Malpractice

41
Q

6 elements must be present for malpractice to be proved

A

Duty - The nurse must have (or should have had) a relationship with the client that involves providing care and following an acceptable standard of care
Breach of duty
Foreseeability - a link between the nurse’s act and the injury suffered
Causation - The harm occurred as a direct result of the nurse’s failure to follow the standard of care
Harm or injury
Damage

42
Q

Categories of negligence that result in malpractice

A
Failure to follow standards of care
Failure to use equipment in a responsible manner
Failure to communicate
Failure to document
Failure to assess and monitor
Failure to act as a patient advocate
43
Q
Fraud 
Assault and Battery 
False imprisonment 
Invasion of privacy 
Defamation: 
Libel and slander
A

Intentional Tort

44
Q

Physical harm through willful touching of person or clothing, without consent

Implications for nursing:
Need to obtain consent to treat, with special provisions when patients are underage, unconscious, or mentally ill

A

Battery

45
Q

The attempt to touch another or the threat to do so and person fears and believes harm will result

A

Assault

46
Q

Communication that is false, or made with a careless disregard for the truth, and results in injury to the reputation of a person

A

Defamation

47
Q

Libel and slander: Wrongful action of communication that damages person’s reputation by print, writing, or pictures (libel), or by spoken word using false words (slander)

A

Defamation

48
Q

Incompetence or gross negligence
Conviction for practicing without a license
Falsification of client records
Illegally obtaining, using, or possessing controlled substances
Having a personal relationship
EXAMPLE OF ….

A

Unprofessional Conduct