Legal Terms Flashcards
Abandonment
Unilateral improper termination of a professional-pt relationship by the PT
Administrative Law
The principles governing the activities and procedures of federal, state, and local government agencies
Advanced Directive
A legal instrument which memorializes a pt’s choice concerning life-sustaining interventions in the event of the individual’s subsequent incompetence
Affidavit
Sworn statement
Answer
The defendant’s first responsive pleading to a plaintiff’s complaint
Anti-Trust Law
Laws which promote competition among businesses for the benefit of the public
Appeal
Mandatory, discretionary review of a criminal or civil case by an appellate judicial body
Assault
An intentional act designed to make the victim fearful of harm
Assumption of Risk
A defense to a negligence action, based on a plaintiff’s voluntarily undertaking a dangerous activity after subjectively fully appreciating the nature and extent of danger involved in the activity
Autonomy
A basic ethical principle in health care recognizing the right of self-determination
Battery
An intentional act involving the act(s) of application of force, or any unconsented, unprivileged offensive touching on the person of another
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
Judicial standard of proof in which the jury (or judge) must be satisfied to a “moral certainty” of a defendant’s guilt
Borrowed Servant Doctrine
Vicarious liability for another’s negligence placed on one or more parties based on the right to exercise control over the wrongdoer at the time the tort is committed; An important doctrine for malpractice
Civil Law
Law governing private legal actions, initiated by private plaintiffs against one or more private defendants
Clinical Affiliation Contract
An agreement, between an academic institution and a clinical site for physical therapy students intern placement.
Complainant
Individual initiating action against an individual such as a PT
Complaint
A plaintiff’s initial pleading
Contract
Enforceable legal obligations bargained for between parties.
Contributory Negligence
Professional conduct that is below the standard normally mandated by law for self-protection
Corporate Liability
The health care organization’s liability for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of personnel.
Corporation
A business organization format in which the legal entity is apart from its owners, who have only limited liability for the obligations of the corporation.
Covenant Not To Compete
A contract provision that restricts an employee or partner from competing in the area, or a certain period of time, after termination or end of a partnership.
Criminal Negligence
Gross negligence or recklessness punishable as a criminal offense
Defamation
False communication about a person that harms the victim’s positive personal reputation in the eyes of a significant number of other people in the victim’s professional or personal community
Defendant
A party against whom litigation is initiated
Deposition
Pretrial civil litigation discovery, in which the transcribed testimony of the opposing parties and witnesses is taken outside of court.
Discovery
The pretrial process of gathering evidence to formulate case and trial strategy
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions
A legal instrument which gives a surrogate the right to make health care decisions for a legally incompetent person
Expert Witness
An individual who has special training, experience, skill, and knowledge in a relevant area and who is allowed to offer an opinion as testimony in court.
Fiduciary
An individual in a special position of trust relative to another person such as the relationship between the PT and the patient.
Fraud
The intentional false representation of a material fact with the intention of deceiving another person and or which a second party relied upon to their detriment.
Good Samaritan Immunity
Statutory laws that exist in most states that protest persons who render voluntary gratuitous emergency first aid to others outside of clinical settings.
Guilt
Responsibility in a criminal case
Health Care Malpractice
Liability generating conduct by health care professionals which are associated with an adverse outcome of patient treatment. The liability may be based on negligence, failure to obtain informed consent to treatment, intentional conduct, breach of contract, product liability or treatment which is abnormally dangerous.
Hold Harmless
A contractual promise in which one party agrees to indemnify another against the financial risk of loss.
Immunity
Freedom from liability