Professional Liability Flashcards
law of agency
(simple as agency)
common law situation in business where the principal (employer) authorizes an agent (employee) to deal with a third person (customer, supplier, or other third party) on the principal’s behalf
liable
legally responsible for their actions, both on and off the job
respondeat superior
“let the master answer”
a doctrine under which an employed is legally liable for the acts of his or her employees, if such acts were performed within the scope of the employees duties
standard of care
the level of performance expected of a health care practitioner in carrying out his or her professional duties
duty of care
obligation of health care workers to patients and, in some cases, nonpatients
reasonable person standard
standard of behavior that judges a persons actions in a situation according to what a reasonable person would or would not do under similar circumstances
malfeasance
performance of a totally wrongful and unlawful act
misfeasance
performance of a lawful act in an illegal or improper manner
nonfeasance
failure to act when one should
four Ds of negligence
Duty, Dereliction, Damage, Direct Cause
Duty
person charged with negligence owed a duty of care to the accuser
Dereliction
health care provider breached the duty of care to the patient
Damage
health care provider’s dereliction of duty caused injury to the patient
Direct Cause
breach of the duty of care to the patient was a direct cause of the patient’s injury
Res ipsa loquitur
“the thing speaks for itself”
the doctrine of common knowledge, mistake is so obvious - leaving a sponge or surgical instrument inside a patient after surgery
damages
monetary compensation
general compensatory
compensate for injuries or losses due to violation of patients rights
special compensatory
compensate for losses not directly caused by the wrong
consequential
compensate for losses caused indirectly by a product defect
punitive
punish the offender
nominal
recognize that rights of the patient were violated, though no actual loss was proved
wrongful death statutes
allows a patients beneficiaries to collect from a health care practitioner for loss to the patients estate of future earnings when a patients death is judged to have been due to negligence of health care practitioners
pretrial screenings
assess the relative strengths of each partys case and determine whether the situation merits going to trial
phases of a lawsuit
- patient feels he or she has been injured
- patient seeks the advice of an attorney
-if attorney believes the case has merit
summons
issued by the clerk of the court and is delivered with a copy of the complaint to the defendant
subpoena
legal document requiring the recipient to appear as a witness in court or to give a deposition
deposition
sworn testimony given and recorded outside the courtroom during the pretrial phase of a case
interrogatory
written set of questions requiring written answers from a plaintiff or defendant under oath
subpoena duces tecum
legal document requiring the recipient to bring certain written records to court to be used as evidence in a lawsuit
testimony
statements sworn to under oath by witness testifying in court and giving depositions
alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
techniques for resolving civil disputes without going to court
consent
patient gives permission (orally or written)
doctrine of informed consent
legal basis for informed consent, usually outlined in a state’s medical practice acts
Good Samaritan Acts
state laws protecting physicians and sometimes other health care practitioners and laypersons from charges of negligence or abandonment if they stop to help the victim of an accident or other emergency
