Legal Flashcards
Which of the following statements is (are) true?
A. Criminal law prosecutes people for violating laws intended to protect society.
B. Civil law deals with conflicts between two parties
C. Both A and B are correct
D. Neither A nor B is correct
C.
Criminal law is the part of the legal system that deals with wrong committed against society or its members; examples are homicide and theft. Civil law is the part of the legal system that deals with conflicts. A civil case usually results in a monetary amount being paid to settle the case rather than disciplinary action, like prison time.
Which of the following scenarios is an example of malfeasance?
A. A paramedic assaults a patient
B. A paramedic inadvertently intubates a patient’s esophagus, fails to confirm the placement, and leaves the tube in place.
C. A paramedic fails to fully immobilize a collision patient who is complaining of neck and back pain.
D. None of the above.
A.
Malfeasance is the performance of a wrongful or unlawful act or the performance of a legal act in a manner that is harmful or injurious. Nonfeasance is the failure to perform a required act or duty.
Which of the following best describes a paramedic operating within the scope of practice?
A. A paramedic is on the scene of a motor vehicle accident. The patient is 8 months pregnant, in critical condition, and probably going to die. A fetal heartbeat is evident. The paramedic elects to do a cesarean section on the scene to save the baby. This procedure is not part of the EMS agency’s protocols.
B. A paramedic is on the scene of a patient having chest pain. The patient has been having chest pain for the past hour. The paramedic elects to give the patient a spray of the patient’s nitroglycerin.
C. A paramedic is en route to the hospital with an elderly patient. The patient goes into cardiac arrest. The patient’s family stated not to do CPR on the patient should he go into cardiac arrest.
D. A paramedic is on the scene of a cardiac patient having chest pain. The patient weighs approximately 100 kilograms. The online medical control doctor orders 1 gram of Lidocaine.
B.
It is acceptable, and within a paramedic’s scope of practice, to administer the patient’s nitroglycerin. It is not acceptable to do a cesarean section, unless it is part of the EMS agency’s protocols. While such occurrences have been reported, it is by no means an acceptable procedure. It is perfectly acceptable to withhold CPR if the paramedic has the appropriate DNR paperwork. It is not within the scope of practice to make the decision based on a family member’s request. Finally, if a paramedic gets an order (that is clearly incorrect), the paramedic needs to clarify the order with the online medical control doctor.
When delivering your report to the receiving hospital over the radio, you should report all of the following EXCEPT:
A. your unit number
B. the patient’s sex and age
C. the patient’s name
D. the patient’s current illness
C.
When giving a report to the receiving hospital by radio you should give the following information: your unit number, your level of certification, ETA, age and sex of the patient, chief complaint, brief pertinent history of the present illness, major past illnesses, mental status, baseline vital signs, pertinent findings, medical care given, and response to the medical treatment. You should never give the patient’s name over the radio. This may be seen as a breach of patient’s confidentiality.
In which of the following scenarios would express consent be applicable?
A. A 27-year-old female is unresponsive and having seizures.
B. A 33-year-old male is having a psychiatric emergency
C. A 14-year-old male fell off a bike and sustained a laceration to the left knee.
D. A 52-year-old female is awake and alert but having chest pain.
D.
Express consent is when a patient gives verbal, non-verbal, or written consent to receive medical care. The 52-year-old female having chest pain can give express consent because she is awake and alert. A patient who is unresponsive cannot give express consent. A patient having psychiatric emergency is not mentally able to give consent. The 14-year-old male is a minor and therefore cannot give express consent unless he has a life-threatening emergency.
Which of the following is a legal document that allows people to specify the kinds of medical treatments they wish to receive when the need arises?
A. Living Will
B. Advance Directive
C. DNR
D. Health Care Surrogate
A.
A living will is a legal document that allows people to specify the kinds of medical treatment they wish to receive when the need arises. An advance directive is a document created to ensure that certain treatment choices are honored when a patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to express a treatment choice. A DNR is a legal document, usually signed by the patient and a physician, that indicates to medical personnel which, if any, life-saving measures to take when the patient’s heart and respiratory functions have ceased. A health care surrogate is appointed to make medical decisions for the patient.
Which of the following is a legal document, usually signed by the patient and a physician that indicates to medical personnel which, if any, life-saving measures to take when the patient’s heart and respiratory functions have ceased?
A. Living Will
B. Advance Directive
C. DNR
D. Health Care Surrogate
C.
A DNR is a legal document, usually signed by the patient and a physician, that indicates to medical personnel which, if any, life-saving measures should be taken when the patient’s heart and respiratory functions have ceased. A living will is a legal document that allows people to specify the kinds of medical treatments they wish to receive when the need arises. An advance directive is a document created to ensure that certain treatment choices are honored when a patient unconscious or otherwise unable to express a treatment choice. A health care surrogate is appointed to make medical decisions for the patient.
There are four fundamental principles, or values, applied to resolving problems in bioethics today. They are all the following EXCEPT:
A. beneficence
B. malfeasance
C. autonomy
D. judgment
D.
Beneficence means to do good, malfeasance means doing harm, and autonomy refers to a competent adult patient’s right to determine what happens to his or her body. These are three of the four fundamental principles or values. The fourth principle is justice; the paramedic’s obligation to treat all patients fairly. Judgment is not one of the four.
The incident command system is built around five major components. Which of the following is NOT a major component?
A. Planning
B. Medical
C. Operations
D. Logistics
B
Medical is part of operations but not a major component. The five components are command, planning, operations, logistics, and finance.
Which of the following is an example of unified command?
A. Affecting more than one political jurisdiction
B. Involving multiple agencies within a jurisdiction
C. Having an impact on multiple geographic and functional agencies.
D. All of the above
D
All of these are examples of unified command, in which one agency is not reliant on outside agencies. Typically, unified command is used for short-duration incidents.
Which unit is responsible for communicating with hospitals to determine capabilities?
A. Transportation
B. Incident Command
C. Treatment
D. Logistics
A
One of the responsibilities of the transportation unit is to determine the capabilities of each receiving hospital.
The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 requires that
A. emergency responders report exposures to infectious diseases
B. emergency responders be advised if they have been exposed to infectious diseases
C. emergency responders be advised if they have been exposed to AIDS
D. emergency responders report patients with AIDS
B
The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 requires that emergency responders be advised if they have been exposed to infectious diseases, including hepatitis, tuberculosis, bacterial meningitis, rubella, and HIV
Which of the following is NOT a defense to a negligence claim?
A. Good Samaritan laws
B. Personal immunity
C. Statute of limitations
D. Contributory negligence
B
Good Samaritan laws, statute of limitations, contributory negligence, and governmental immunity are defenses to negligence claims.
Which of the following statements is NOT correct regarding correcting errors on a patient care report?
A. Note the purpose of the revision or correction and why the information did not appear on the original document
B. Note the date and time the revision or correction was made.
C. Ensure that the revision or correction was made by the original author of the document
D. Make the revision or correction as soon as the need for it is realized by blacking out any errors to avoid confusion.
D
You should make any revision or correction to a patient care report as soon as you realize it is necessary; however, you should draw a line through any words you wish to delete and never black out any errors on the patient care report.
