Law in allied health

Good Samaritan Statute

Based on the premise that healthcare personnel should be held to lesser standards of care in emergencies with some protection from liability

Steps of litigation

Complaint, discovery, deposition, possible settlement, trial, and then appeal

Civil Law

Concerns the private rights and duties of individuals who live within a society.

defensive medicine

Consists of medical responses that are motivated by desire to avoid potential liability claims more than by the needs of the patient

The U.S. constitution created the ___________ government.

Federal

Evaluative mediation

Gives opinions about the merits of the case, pointing out weaknesses in the position of the parties, and may predict what a judge or jury would likely do.

Facilitative Mediation

Guides the mediation process, but doesn't express opinions on the merits of each party's position. They help reach a mutual agreement.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; created important rules regarding safe guarding health information

Legislation adopted by state governments are _______.

Statutes

product liability

The legal responsibility that a manufacturer or distributor of an unreasonably dangerous product has for damages caused by the dangerous condition

litigation

The process of resolving a dispute through the court system.

Due care

The responsibility of a physician to hire qualified personnel and supervise personnel accordingly

Deposition

The taking of oral testimony under oath before trial

litigate

To begin a legal process involving a court

Impeach a witness

To challenge the credibility of a witness

Jury trial

Type of trial in which a judge serves as a fact finder and hears a case

Battery

any intentional [or reckless] touching of another person without the consent of that person and without lawful excuse.

3 levels of government

federal, state, local

Actus Reus

guilty act

Mens Rea

guilty mind

perjury

lying under oath

Defendants

people being sued

Assumption of Risk

voluntary acceptance of a known danger

answer

Admitting or denying the allegations and stating defenses.

Comparative Negligence

Allows the jury to assign percentages of fault to the healthcare personnel and to the patient

A duty

An individuals obligation

A right

An individuals power, privilege, or immunity.

crime

An offense against a locale, a state, or the United States.

Misdemeanor

Any crime that is punishable by imprisonment for less than one year. Many crimes, such as upcoding to increase medical reimbursement, are also punishable by fines.

Felony

Any crime that is punishable by imprisonment of one year or more. This includes crimes for which the punishment is the death penalty.

Malpractice

Professional negligence

Criminal Law

Prohibits and punishes certain conduct for the benefit of society

Statute of Limitations

Provides that claims can be barred if not filed within a reasonable time period following the alleged incident

False Claims Act

Punishes those who knowingly engage in false billing; deliberately ignorance of or reckless disregard of the truth

informed consent

Refers to a patient's acceptance of treatment after the doctor properly informed the patient about the treatment

Law

Set of rules that govern behavior

Administrative regulations

Sometimes laws adopted by legislative bodies require an agency to carry out the law. For example, the food and drug administration (FDA) is an administrative agency created to carry out, or enforce, laws relating to that subject matter. Agencies have the authority to create rules and regulations that clarify or interpret the basic statutes the agency is charged with enforcing. These administrative regulations have the same force of law that statutes have.

kickback

A commercial bribe paid by a seller to a purchasing agent in order to induce the agent to enter into the transaction

Appeal

A decided case is transferred to a higher court to review for errors of law

living will

A document that states the patient's wishes regarding being allowed to die a natural death if the patient is in a permanent vegetative state or a terminal condition and lacks the ability to make medical decisions

Negligence

A failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances. Ex: A physician misdiagnosed her patient, resulting in the patient receiving inappropriate care.

court reporter

A person who records testimony for use of litigation

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

A process for resolving disputes outside of the court system that may be used before or after litigation has begun.

Common Law

A system of law originally developed in England, called common law, is developed on a case by case basis from court decisions. Common-law can be called court produced law, case law, or judge made law. Courts, when deciding specific disputes, try to establish rules that could be applied to future cases involving the same issue. A courts interpretation of the meaning of a statutes or administrative regulation becomes a rule that can be applied in future cases involving the same statute or regulation.

intentional tort

A tort committed by one who intends to do the act that creates the harm. (Also wants money to compensate for damages caused)

bench trial

A trial in which there is no jury

Speculation

A witness gives an opinion rather than stating observable facts

Summons

Courts formal notice that one is being sued.

Categories of common crimes

Crimes against a person crimes against property crimes against habitation sexual crimes crimes against morality and decency crimes against government operations

Certification

Documentation of having met certain standards

Types of Malpractice

Failure to diagnose failure to inform of diagnosis errors in treatment lack of informed consent

Discovery

Is a way of collecting written or oral testimony, documents, and other evidence to use at trial.

Plaintiff

One who begins a lawsuit

Legislation adopted by local governments are _______.

Ordinances

expert witness

People who have skill, experience, training, or education in a specialized field that ordinary people don't have

When something has happened and a patient is unhappy, it is called

Prelitigation Ex: a patient complains to his dentist that his dental hygienist lacerated his tongue during his oral examination. The doctor would need to file an incident report.

When one person is held responsible for the actions of another, it's called Ex: a physician fails to provide adequate training to staff, resulting in mismanagement of patient files and lower quality care.

Vicarious liability

Legislation law

We elect representatives to serve in legislative bodies. We elect representatives and senators to serve in Congress in Washington D.C., where the federal government is located. We also elect representatives to serve in local legislatures such as city councils. Legislators . Statues are legislation passed by legislative bodies on the federal and state levels. Ordinances are legislation adopted by local legislative bodies. The federal government passes laws that apply to all states. Individual States also pass laws that apply to only those in that state. Local government laws apply within the jurisdiction in which they're adopted.

burden of proof

What the plaintiffs are obligated to prove

Mediation

When a neutral third person helps the parties in a dispute reach a settlement agreement.

Contributory Negligence

When a patient contributes to causing harm

Arbitration

the process or act of resolving a dispute

Res Ispa Loquitur

the thing speaks for itself