Athletic Medicine: Legal Terms Review

Ethics

Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior. —— is frequently used in reference to professional conduct.

Morals

A person’s standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and isn’t acceptable

Liability

Legal responsibility for the harm one person causes another.

Negligence

FAILURE to provide proper care, leading to injury or damage.

Tort

A civil wrong that occurs when a healthcare professional or institution acts negligently causing harm to a patient.

Act of Omission

Failure to do the right thing

Acts of Commission

Doing something wrong.

4 basic elements of any Tort allegation

Duty, Breach of Duty, Causation, and Damages

Risk management

Any activity process of policy to reduce liability exposure to lawsuits: the attempt to foresee potential legal risk or harm.

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Assumption of risk

Disclosure or identifiable information from educational records. A legal defense that prevents a participant from recovering damages from an injury is inherent to the sport itself.

Informed Consent

Requires that patients be fully informed of treatment risks and alternatives before agreeing to treatment; ensures that the person understands nature of the procedure. Right to withdrawal.

Classification of sports

The classes are: Collision/contact, limited contact, non-contact. Classified on risk of injury.