Tort Flashcards
A tort
Is a civil wrong committed by one individual against the person or
property of another.
Plaintiff
suing party
The defendent
The one being sued
felony
Serious crime punished by imprisonment and in extreme cases by
death
Defamation
To attack or injure a person’s reputation
Misdemeanor
Less significant crime punishable by fine or less than a year
Laws
rules of standards of human conduct established by government through legislative bodies.
categories of law
- Criminal law;
* Deals with offences against the state or the community
* Protects the community against certain acts
* An example would be a terrorist bombing that results in
destruction of public property and the death of one or more
persons (a crime against society and it’s a felony) - Civil law
* A civil law is broken if another person’s private legal rights have
been violated
* An example of a violation of a civil law might be a suit by an
individual against a physician for a misdiagnosis that results in a
injury
* This injury is to one person and not to the entire society
Libel and slender
malicious spreading of information that causes defamation of
character or loss of reputation.
Invasion of privacy
breach of confidentiality
Assault
Threat of touching in an injurious way
Examples of Intentional tort
- False imprisonment
- Invasion of privacy
- Libel & slander
- Assault
- Battery
Categories of Offenses likely to be commited in hospital setting
- Intentional tort
- Unintentional tort
Unintentional tort
- Negligence:
When someone doesn’t do what a reasonable person would do, or fails to be careful, - Malpractice:
Improper action on part of a
professional resulting in some form of injury to the patient as a direct
result of care from the professional.
Battery
Unlawful touching of a person without consent
Four conditions that legally establish a claim of
malpractice
- The defendant had a duty to provide reasonable care to the
patient. - The patient sustained some loss or injury
- The defendant is the party responsible for the loss.
- The loss is attributable to negligence or improper action.
False imprisonment
unjustifiable detention of a person against his/her will
Competence
Knowing and adhering to professional standards
The 7 Cs of malpractice prevention
- Competence
- Compliance
- Charting
- Communication
- Confidentiality
- Courtesy
- Carefulness
Compliance
Following policies and procedures
Communication
good communication with patients
Charting
Documentation should be complete, consistent and objective.
Courtesy
Caring and respecting attitude by the radiographer.
Confidentiality
duty of an individual to keep certain information private
Carefulness
Alert and responsible as personal injuries can occur unexpectedly.
Examples of unintentional tort
- Improperly marking radiographic images, such as incorrectly labelling
intravenous pyelography for right and left which could result in the
surgeon removing the healthy kidney, leaving only the diseased
kidney - Omitting to apply gonadal shielding on a female patient with a femur
fracture who is subsequently discovered to be pregnant. - Handing the radiologist the incorrect syringe during a procedure
which results in the injection of a wrong drug instead of the
contrast media - Leaving an unconscious patient on a trolley while the
radiographer leaves the room, thus allowing the radiographer to
jar the siderails and fall off the trolley because the safety belt was
not secure
Patients responsibility
responsible for;
* Keeping appointments
* Refusing treatment
* Providing accurate and complete healthy history.
* Following hospital rules.
Define intentional tort
A purposeful deed committed with the intention of producing the consequences of the deed
Why do we have the tort law
To protect the violator of law from being sued for an act of vengeance, to determine and to compensate the injured party
