Medical Legal Issues

Criminal Law

Deals with wrong against society or its members.

Deals with crime and punishment.

Need proof of guilt.

Civil Law

Deals with non-criminal issues and conflicts between two parties. Health care mainly

deals in civil law.

Litigation

The act or process of carrying on a lawsuit.

Law designed to protect persons who assist at the scene of a

medical emergency.

Good Samaritan Law

Health Care providers must report the following:

Child/Elderly abuse.Injury sustained in commission of a felony.

Child birth outside of licensed medical facility.

Rape or suspected rape.

Health Care providers must report the following:

Gun shot wounds. Animal bites. Communicable diseases. Death outside of hospital.

A branch of civil law concerning civil wrongs between two parties. “Wrongdoing” Types of torts include:

Tort Law

The termination of a health care provider-patient relationship,

without assurance that an equal or greater level of care will

continue.

Abandonment

An action that places a person in immediate fear of bodily harm.

Assault

The unlawful touching of a person without his or her

consent.

Battery

Holding someone against his/her will without proper authorization.

False Imprisonment

The act of injuring a person’s character, name or reputation by false or malicious writings.

Libel

The act of injuring a person’s character, name or reputation by false or malicious spoken words.

Slander

Standard of Care

The care expected based on the provider’s training and

experience, taking into account the conditions under which the

care is rendered.

Standard of Care

Local CustomSimilar Training & ExperienceProtocolsOther factors

Location HazardsCrowds

Standard of Care

“- - - how a reasonably prudent person with similar training & experience would act under similar circumstances, with similar equipment, and in the same place.”

Scope of Practice

Scope of Practice outlines the care the healthcare provider may provide to the patient.

What falls under your scope of practice?

Any deviation from the standard of care.

Negligence

To prove negligence, you must have all of the following:

Duty to actBreach of that dutyDamagesProximate Cause

Permission for the health care provider to give care.

Types include:

Consent

Verbal, non-verbal, or written communication by a patient that

he or she wishes to receive medical care.

Expressed Consent

Consent obtained only after the patient has had the risks and

benefits of treatment explained in a manner which the patient

understands.

Informed Consent

Assumption that the patient would desire care if he or she

were able to make the decision.

Implied Consent

Implied consent applies to mentally incompetent

individuals, unconscious patients, minors.

Implied Consent

The person is required by the courts to accept medical transport and/or treatment

Mandated Consent

Records & Reports

Complete & Accurate Legible & Neat

An untidy or incomplete report is evidence of incomplete or inexpert care.

Legal Document If it wasn’t written down, it didn’t happen!

Set of principles dealing with what is morally right

or wrong.

Ethics

Refusal of Care

A competent adult has the right to refuse any or all medical

treatment.

Patient makes known wants for his or her care in advance of the

need for care.

Types include:

Advance Directives

A written request, usually to withhold heroic life support

measures from a patient with a terminal condition.

Living Will

Execution of a Living Will

Must have two adult witnesses who are not:

1) related to patient by blood or marriage

2) entitled to any portion of your estate

Execution of a Living Will

3) your doctor or doctor of hospital

4) financially responsible for your medical care

5) have any claims against your estate

Appointment of another person to make decisions for the patient’s care if and when the patient is

unable to make such decisions.

Durable Power of Attorney

Do Not Resuscitate order. Indicates that the patient does

not wish to have CPR or other life saving measures performed in

the case of death.

DNR

Organ Donors

Emergency care for an organ donor must not differ in any

way from the care for a person who is not an organ donor.

Three obvious signs of irreversible death

DecapitationRigor mortisPooling