Med Law

Appellate court

A court that hears appeals from lower court decisions sometimes called the Court of Appeals.

in personam jurisdiction

A court's power to adjudicate cases filed against a specific individual, as opposed to in rem jurisdiction, which concerns property disputes.

Request for production of documents

A discovery tool whereby requests are submitted to the opposing party to produce specific documents or items that are pertinent to the issues of the case.

Civil lawsuit

A non-criminal lawsuit for damages, usually based in tort, contract, labor, or privacy.

Plaintiff

A person or entity bringing a suit or claim.

in rem jurisdiction

A term that delineates the courts jurisdiction over property or things, including marriage, rather than over persons.

Assault

A threat or attempt to inflict offensive of physical contact or bodily harm on the person that puts the person in immediate danger of or an apprehension of such harm or contact.

tort

A wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

Jurisdiction

Authority given by law to a court to try cases and rule on legal matters with in a particular geographic area and/or over certain types of legal cases.

Battery

Bodily harm or unlawful touching of another. In the medical field, treating the patient without consent is considered battery.

Administrative Law

Codifies interactions between citizens and government agencies, provides certain police power to the agencies to enforce the regulations, and governs the agencies themselves.

Civil code

Comprehensive collection of private laws, usually including common private laws such as those concerning contracts, torts, property, inheritance, and family issues; as opposed to corporate law.

Federal court

Court having jurisdiction over cases in which the US Constitution and federal statutes apply; these could be federal district courts known as trial courts, District Court of Appeals, or the US Supreme Court.

Statute of limitations

Defense against a tort action; requires that a claim be filed within a specific amount of time of discovering the wrong has been committed.

Admission of fact

Discovery technique that asks the opposing party in writing to admit or deny any material fact or the authenticity of documents to be introduced into evidence at trial

Judicial branch

Federal constitutional court system, one of three parts of the US federal government, interprets legislation and determines its constitutionality and applies it to specific cases. May overrule cases presented on appeal from lower courts.

State Supreme Court

Highest court in any given state in the US court system

United States Supreme Court

Highest court in the United States, having an ultimate judicial authority within the United States to interpret and decide questions of federal law. It is head of the judicial branch of the United States government.

Res Ipsa Loquitur

In Latin: the thing speaks for itself. Legal indication that there is clear proof that the defendant had the responsibility to the patient and that the injury would not and could not have occurred without the negligence of the defendant.

Stare decisis

In Latin: to stand by the things decided, or to adhere to a decided case; condition in which, Once the court rules, that decision becomes law for other cases. Also known as precedent.

Common Law

Law of precedents built on a case-by-case basis and established by citing interpretation of existing laws by judges in previous suits. Also known as judge made law.

Medical Law

Laws that are prescribed specifically pertaining to the medical field.

Misdemeanor

Lesser crime punishable by usually modest fines or penalties a established by the state or federal government, and/or imprisonment of less than one year.

writ of certiorari

Order a higher court issues to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court and determine whether there were any irregularities.

Defendant

Person or entity sued.

Interrogatory

Pre-trial set of written questions that must be answered in writing under oath and returned within a given timeframe.

Executive Branch

President of the United States or governor of an individual state. Can propose laws, veto laws proposed by the legislature, enforce laws, and establish agencies.

Medical ethics

Principles based on the medical profession that determine moral behavior.

Discovery

Process of gathering information in preparation for trial.

Medicare fraud

Providing false information to claim medical reimbursements beyond the scope of payment for actual health care services rendered.

Felony

Serious crime punishable by a relatively large fines and/or imprisonment for more than one year and, in some cases, death.

Criminal Law

State or federal government law covering violations of written criminal code or statute.

Legislative branch

The US house of representatives and senate and any similar state legislature that develops statutory law.

Standard of care

The average knowledge and expertise that one can expect from a healthcare professional in the same area or field in with the same base of training.

Malpractice

The failure of a professional to meet the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent member of a profession would exercise in similar circumstances, it results in harm.

Negligence

The failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances, an act of omission or failure to do with a person of ordinary prudence would have done under somewhere similar circumstances.

Law

The foundation of statutes, rules, and regulations that governs people, relationships, behaviors, and interactions with the state, society, and federal government.