Medical Law and Ethics

Chapter 4 Review Applying Knowledge: 1. As employers, physicians have general liability in what three areas? The Practice’s Building and Grounds, Automobiles and Employee Safety. 2. According to the reasonable person standard, a person may be charged with negligence if someone is injured because of failure to perform an act that a reasonable person in similar circumstances would perform, or if an act is committed that: a reasonable person would not commit. 3. To whom is duty of care owed? Nonpatients (pg.94) 4. If a custodian sues an employing physician for ordering her to lift a heavy bookcase that injures her back, is the issue of liability standard of care or duty of care? Duty of Care 5. What is the basis for most medical malpractice claims? High damage awards in tort cases have led to a malpractice insurance crisis for physicians. 6. A patient falls on a hospitals slippery tile floor and injures herself. Assuming that patient safety procedures were lax, what two undesirable occurrences could result for the hospital? 7. List and describe the four Ds of negligence. Duty – the person charged with negligence owed a duty of care to the accuser. Dereliction – The health care provider breached the duty of care to the patient. Direct Cause – The breach of the duty of care to the patient was a direct cause of the patient’s injury. Damages – There is a legally recognizable injury to the patient. 8. When a patient sues a physician for negligence, who has the burden of proof, the plaintiff or the defendant? The person bringing the lawsuit (plaintiff) are the ones who have to prove their case. 9. In a case in which a patient sues a physician, the patient is called the _plaintiff_ and the physician is called the _defendant_. 10. Why are expert witnesses often required in a medical negligence lawsuit?