Unit 4- Legalities Flashcards
What are laws?
- Man-made rules that regulate human social conduct in formally prescribed and legally binding manner
What are the 3 types of Tort’s law?
- Intentional
- Quasi-intentional
- Unintentional
What is Intentional torts?
- Willful acts that violate another person’s rights or property usually physical acts; may result in crime
What are examples of intentional torts?
- Assault
- saying or doing something that will make a person genuinely fear that he or she will be touched without consent
- Battery
- unconsented touching of a person, or anything he or she is wearing or holding, or anything that is attached to him or her, without the person permission; does not have to cause injury
- False imprisonment
- Making a person stay in a place against his or her wishes; can be verbal, physical or chemical
- Intentional infliction of emotional abuse
- The use of extreme or outrageous conduct that causes severe emotional distress in the family or patient.
- Conversion of property
- Interference by the nurse with the right to possession of the patients property by either intermeddling or destroying the property
What is Quasi-Intentional torts?
Violation of a person’s reputation, personal privacy or freedom from malicious or unfounded legal prosecution.
What should we know about Quasi-intentional torts?
- Has characteristics of both intentional and unintentional torts
- Principles of low for intentional torts apply
- Often deal with communication issues
Defamation of character is a type of Quasi-intentional torts. What is defamation?
The sharing of information that unintentionally harms a person’s reputation
What is slander?
Type of defamation which is a type of Quasi-intentional torts
Oral defamation of character that is intentional and malicious
What is Libel?
Type of defamation which is a type of Quasi-Intentional torts
Written defamation of character that is intentional and malicious
What is Invasion of privacy (Quasi-Intentional Torts)
Violation of a person’s right to keep information about self, family and property from public scrutiny
- Not an absolute right– can and may be required by law to be breached in certain circumstances such as child, spousal or elder abuse; gun shot wounds; knife wounds; rape; communicable diseases; suspected crimes
What is breach of confidentiality (Quasi-Intentional Torts)?
Revealing information obtained from privileged communications
What is privileged communications in terms of breach of confidentiality?
A special type of privacy that exists in certain professional relationships where its violation would destroy trust and confidence in the professional
- Physican- patient
- Lawyer- client
- Priest- penitent
What is unintentional torts?
A wrong occurring to another person leading to injury even though it was not intended
Same a negligence: failure to act as a reasonable and prudent person would act in the same situation (standard)
What is malpractice? (Unintentional torts)
Professional negligence; failure to act as a competent and caring nurse (higher standard)
To prove malpractice, the patient must show?
A wrong that occurred because of a professional’s failure to act as a reasonable and prudent professional would have acted in the same situation
The essential characteristics
1. The person must be working in a professional capacity (paid or volunteer )
2. The wrong must be demonstrated
3. The wrong must be shown to have been caused by the failure of the profession to act as a reasonable and prudent member of that profession
What is legal liability?
Occurs if a person is found guilty of any tort; generally results in the payment of damages
What is compensatory damages?
The actual costs incurred because of the negligent act
What is punitive damages?
Money awarded beyond the compensatory damages to “punish” the violator and send a message that this behavior is unacceptable’ tend to much greater amounts of money
To show liability, the patient must be able to prove the following
- A duty to care as defined by a standard of care (local vs. national standard)
- Failure to meet that standard of care
- Foreseeability of harm
- Actual harm to the patient.
If any conditions are missing, then there is no lawsuit
What are the different types of liability?
- Personal
- Supervisor
- Employer
What is personal liability?
- Each professional is responsible for his or her own actions
What is supervisor liability?
Supervisors are responsible for the actions of those working under their direction.
What is employer liability?
Employers can be held responsible for actions committed by employees
Employers responsibilities include
- Hiring qualified persons
- Maintaining safe work environment
- Providing supervision and direction of employees
- Providing education
What are common causes for malpractice suits?
- Burns: from hot water, heating pads, lights, malfunctioning equipment, too strong solutions, showers, baths
- Falls: out of bed, while ambulating, due to wet floors, defective equipment, over-sedation
- Failure to observe and take appropriate action; refusing to answer call lights, orthopedic injuries, not taking vital signs, leaving patients alone
- Medication/injection errors
- Dispensing meds as an RN
- Mistaken identity; meds; procedures; surgery
- Failure to communicate not informing MD of a patient problem; poor shift reports inability to reach MD
- Abandonment; leaving a patient alone who should be left alone
- Loss or damage to patient property; dentures, clothing, hearing aids
- THings left in patients during surgery
- Lack of informed consent
What is statue of limitation?
- A time period after which a malpractice suit cannot be filed
- generally, 2 years after discovery of injury
- in children, up to age 21
What is the patient self determination act?
- Federal law that requires that all federally funded institutions inform clients of their tight to prepare advacne directive
What is the purpose and benefits of an advance directive?
- Advance directives encourage patients to discuss and document their wishes concerning the type of treatment and care they want in advance
- This eases the burden on their families and providers when it comes time for a decision
What are the two types of advance directive?
- Living will
- Medical durable power of attorney
What is a living will?
Document stating what health care a client will accept or refuse after the client is no longer competent or able to make that decision
What is a medical durable power of attorney?
Health care proxy, designates another person to make health-care decisions for a person if the client becomes incompetent or unable to make such decisions
What are characteristics of a suit prone nurse?
- Insensitive to patient needs
- Undereducated
- Overconfident
- Authoritarian
- Inflexible
- Pre-occupied with personal issues
How can you protect yourself?
- don’t criticize other professionals
- Stay within your scope of practice
- be definite about instructions
- Take extra precautions with telephone orders.
- Monitor the care of those you supervise
- Check the condition of health-care equipment you are using
- If in doubt, stop
- Watch for adverse outcomes (medications, tx, etc.)
- If you suspect a law suit, notify your insurance carrier immediately
- Never tell a patient you have malpractice insurance
- If a suit is filed dont talk to anyone but your lawyer
