Section 7C: p. 449-501 Flashcards
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
The doctrine of informed consent falls under tort law. What is the definition of tort law? (Section 7, p. 451)
Tort law is defined as civil injury to persons or their property inflicted by another. It encompasses both intentional tors and unintentional torts.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
Battery is an ___________ tort, while negligence is an ________tort. (Section 7, p. 451-453)
intentional, unintentional
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What is battery? (Section 7, p. 452)
Battery is the unintentional and legally unpermitted physical contact with another person (or any deliberate act that results in unintended contact).
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What is negligence? (Section 7, p. 453)
Negligence is the failure to use due care in one’s actions or omissions, which results in an unintended injury to another.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
There are 3 instances where battery can occur. What are they? (Section 7, p. 452-453)
- Treatment involving touch without consent.
- Treatment differs from what was consented to.
- Consent for treatment was obtained, but information was left out prior to receiving consent.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What is a treatment that has a high risk of battery? (Section 7, p. 452-453)
Z-process therapy (child is restrained in therapists lap - will only let the child go if they complete a task, such as telling the therapist their name) - typically used for individuals with ASD or schizophrenia
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What are the 4 elements of negligence? (Section 7, p. 453)
- defendant has legal duty owing to the plaintiff
- defendant breaches duty.
- plaintiff incurs injury (quantifiable in monetary terms)
- breach of duty is the proximate or direct cause of injury
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
In negligence, non-disclosure can be the cause of injury only if the treatment…… (Section 7, p. 454)
Would not have been agreed to otherwise.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
In negligence, there are two tests of causality. What are they and what do they refer to? (Section 7, p. 454)
- Subjective test: attempts to establish if the plaintiff would have agreed to treatment if adequate disclosure was provided.
- Objective test: attempts to determine if a “reasonable” patient would have declined treatment if appropriate disclosure was provided.
Side note: Canada and the U.S. typically follow the objective test.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
Name and describe the 6 guidelines for informed consent. (Section 7, p. 459 - the table)
- Assess competency
- Evaluate legal status of consent (e.g., minors)
- Ensure voluntariness
- Be specific
- Provide information (e.g., nature of proposed treatment, potential risks/benefits, alternatives, consequences of not proceeding, method of rescinding consent)
- Examine method of consent (e.g., document consent)
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What is the difference between the professional disclosure standard and the material risk standard? (Section 7, p. 455)
- Professional disclosure standard - disclosure is determined based on what is typically done by the professional community.
- Material risk standard - requires disclosure of info that a reasonable person would need to make an informed treatment decision.
Side note: material risk standard typically has greater respect for autonomy (so this standard is often preferred).
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
There are 3 variations of the professional disclosure standard. What are they and what do they refer to? (Section 7, p. 454)
- Local community standard - disclosure is limited to what is customarily done by other professionals in the same community.
- Prevailing practice standard - disclosing info based on what the profession as a whole would conform to.
- Reasonable practitioner standard - disclosure which a reasonable practitioner would make under the same/similar circumstances.
Questions from Crowhurst & Dobson (1993) article:
What are 2 reasons for the trend to pursue informed consent litigation under negligence rather than battery? (Section 7, p. 453)
- Battery is a cruder theory - it has limited applicability to certain circumstances (consent was ignored, the limitations of consent were intentionally exceeded, or the nature of the procedure was withheld).
- When battery has been committed, with no resulting injury, courts may only grant token awards.
In couples counselling, if the counsellor is seeing the couple together, as well as individually, the counsellor may need to decide how to respond to the request of secret keeping. What is the best way to navigate this situation? (Section 7, p. 478)
The counsellor should communicate their policy on secret keeping before the onset of counselling.
In regards to forensic psychological evaluations, what are the 5 steps to ensure psychological evaluations remain ethical? (Section 7, p. 497)
Foote and Shuman
Exam
- Notify the person of all legal issues to be addressed in the evaluation.
- In those few situations in which a right to remain silent pertains, inform the person using “miranda” language.
- Advice the person of the limits to confidentiality.
- Make the evaluator role clear, and let the client know you are not in the position of a therapist (while you are conducting evaluations).
- Request the client’s participation and advise of any sanctions if participation is declined.
