Legal Terms Flashcards
Administrative Law
The principles governing the activities and procedures of federal, state, and local government agencies
Venue
The geographic locale for a legal action.
- For malpractice, it is usually where the negligence occurred or where the defendant lives.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual advances that are an unwelcome request for sexual favors and any verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature directed toward another person.
Wrongful Inheritance w/Contractual Relationship
Wrongful conduct on the part of a person/business entity to intentionally induce another person or business to breach an existing contract.
Privelage
The freedom not to disclose, or permit another person to disclose confidential communications, freedom from liability for defamation.
Joint Venture
A business relationship formed for a special limited purpose; Members have only limited authority to bind their fellow members
Privacy
The only implied constitutional right; the right to be free of unreasonable governmental intrusion on personal freedom.
Wrongful Discharge
The unjustified termination of an employee
Standard of Care
A negligence concept that compares the conduct of a defendant to that of reasonably competent peers acting under the same or similar circumstances.
Negligence
Behavior which falls below the standard required of the ordinary, reasonable person acting under the same or similar circumstances.
Fiduciary
An individual in a special position of trust relative to another person such as the relationship between the PT and the patient.
Hold Harmless
A contractual promise in which one party agrees to indemnify another against the financial risk of loss.
Assault
An intentional act designed to make the victim fearful of harm
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
Nonmaleficence
Do no harm
Strict Liability
Imposition of civil or criminal liability without regard for fault, guilt or motive, based on public policy considerations
Intentional Torts
Wrongs that are intentional that are committed against individuals or property
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
Plaintiff
Party initiating the litigation
Indemnification
Reimbursement/compensation of financial losses.
Contract
Enforceable legal obligations bargained for between parties.
Last Clear Chance
A contributory negligence concept. The defendant has the opportunity to prevent injuring the plaintiff but fails to do so.
Answer
The defendant’s first responsive pleading to a plaintiff’s complaint
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
Spoilation
Intentional destruction or negligent loss of the medical records relevant to litigation by a defendant or by somebody associated with the defendant.
Negligent Hiring
Primary liability of the employer for injury to others as a result of the employer’s failure to take reasonable steps to determine that a job applicant poses a danger to others
Misdemeanor
A crime of less importance
- Punishment = Fine
Contributory Negligence
Professional conduct that is below the standard normally mandated by law for self-protection
Restrictive Covenant
In the case of an employment contract, it is a contractual provision limiting a party’s ability to act without restraint
Murder
The unlawful killing of a person with malice and with premeditation and or reckless disregard for human life. (Killing someone on purpose)
Prima Facie Evidence
Evidence sufficient on its face value to establish a disputed fact.
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.
Justice
A health care ethical principle, indicating the desire to achieve basic fairness in health care delivery, at the individual, group, societal, and global levels.
Manslaughter
Unlawful homicide without a specific intent to kill the victim or a reckless disregard for human life. (Killing someone by accident)
Tolling
Suspension of the running statute of limitations
Anti-Trust Law
Laws which promote competition among businesses for the benefit of the public
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.
Substandard Care
Care that is not in compliance with legal and ethical standards and fails to meet at least minimally acceptable practice standards.
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
Reporting Statute
Statutory laws that requires HCP’s and teachers to report certain evaluative findings such as communicable diseases, suspected child/domestic/ elder abuse, and trauma wounds
Incident Report
Memorialization of facts around an adverse event, such as a patient injury
- Two-fold purpose:
- Create a legal record
- Alert administration to safety concerns
Substantive Due Process
A legal requirement that government must treat people fairly when taking action that affects fundamental important rights and liberties such as those associated with employment and professional licensure
Immunity
Freedom from liability
Intellectual Property
Computer software, manuscripts, depictions, inventions, symbols, and other intangible creations of the mind.
Deposition
Pretrial civil litigation discovery, in which the transcribed testimony of the opposing parties and witnesses is taken outside of court.
Guilt
Responsibility in a criminal case
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.
Advanced Directive
A legal instrument which memorializes a pt’s choice concerning life-sustaining interventions in the event of the individual’s subsequent incompetence
Discovery
The pretrial process of gathering evidence to formulate case and trial strategy
Larceny
Illegal taking of another’s property w/the intent to permanently deprive the true owner of its use (Stealing)
Independent Contractor
A work relationship in which the individual works independently of detailed control by an employer and for whose conduct the employer is not normally vicariously liable
Respondent
The person against whom a formal administrative or ethical complaint has been lodged
Sole Proprietorship
A form of business organization in which an individual business owner personally controls the business and therefore is solely liable for all incidents associated with its operation
Limited Liability Company
Hybrid form of business org combining a corporation and a partnership
Defendant
A party against whom litigation is initiated
Surrogate Decision Maker
An agent appointed by a principal to make substituted decisions regarding health care and other significant interventions involving the principal.
Criminal Negligence
Gross negligence or recklessness punishable as a criminal offense
Complainant
Individual initiating action against an individual such as a PT
Therapeutic Privelage
A concept of informed consent under which HCP’s have the right to withhold information from a patient before treatment when disclosing info about the tx would be a threat
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.
Patent
Exclusive grant by the federal government to an original investor to make, sell, and use an invention for a period of years
Interrogatories
Written questions that are entered by opponents towards parties in civil litigation
- Used as a pretrial discovery device
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
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.
Complaint
A plaintiff’s initial pleading
Product Liability
Civil liability for injuries caused by dangerous or defective products to consumers and others
Vicarious Liability
Indirect responsibility for the torts of another, usually in employer-employee, supervisor-student, staff-volunteer types of relationships.
Appeal
Mandatory, discretionary review of a criminal or civil case by an appellate judicial body
Quid Pro Quo
A type of sexual harassment case in which the victim’s response to sexual harassment forms the basis for employment-related decisions involving the victim of others (The granting of a favor or being given an advantage in expect for something in return)
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.
Risk Management
A result of quality assurance, the business strategies, and tactics that focus on how to prevent patient injuries, complaints to minimize the organization’s liability exposure.
Professional Negligence
Tx-related negligence (Substandard Care)
Preponderance of Evidence
The standard of proof in a civil case.
- The plaintiff must establish that the version of the case is more than likely correct.
- The standard must be applied to each and every required element of the plaintiff’s case.
- The standard applies to the defendant for matters in which the defendant bears the legal burden of proof
Battery
An intentional act involving the act(s) of application of force, or any unconsented, unprivileged offensive touching on the person of another
Voir Dire
The process of interviewing jurors before a trial for biases that might disqualify them from sitting for the case (The first part when you get called for jury duty)
Sexual Battery
A result of quality assurance, the business strategies, and tactics that focus on how to prevent patient injuries, complaints to minimize the organization’s liability exposure.
Premises Liability
The liability, responsibility of owners/occupiers of land for injuries incurred by other individuals coming onto their land.
Affidavit
Sworn statement
Negligent Homicide
A crime involving the death of a person by another’s grossly negligent conduct.
Corporate Liability
The health care organization’s liability for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of personnel.
Probable Cause
Substantial, objective, credible evidence that a particular suspect committed a specific offense.
Punitive Damages
Extreme damages in a civil case, in excess of normal compensatory special and general damages awarded against a defendant who engages in outrageous wanton or willful conduct.
Nolo Contendere
A plea in a criminal case in which the defendant chooses not to respond to charges against them.
- Has the effect of a plea of guilty.
Autonomy
A basic ethical principle in health care recognizing the right of self-determination
Wrongful Death
A civil action initiated by heirs of an estate against a defendant to recover the present economic value of anticipated future contributions lost by the heirs as a result of the defendant’s negligence or other tortious conduct.
Invasion of Privacy
An intentional tort that involves:
- Unreasonable intrusion on the plaintiff’s solitude
- Publication of statements which place the plaintiff in a false light
- Misappropriation of a plaintiff’s name or likeness
- Public disclosure of private facts about the plaintiff.
Living Will
A legal document that states a person’s wishes regarding life-sustaining measures that should be taken in the event of a person’s incompetence.
Respondent Superior
Vicarious liability such as the liability of a supervisor for the actions of their student (“Let the master answer”)
Clinical Affiliation Contract
An agreement, between an academic institution and a clinical site for physical therapy students intern placement.
Primary Liability
Legal responsibility for your own conduct.
Abandonment
Unilateral improper termination of a professional-pt relationship by the PT
Civil Law
Law governing private legal actions, initiated by private plaintiffs against one or more private defendants
