NC chapter 4

Abrupt termination of medical care for the patient without giving the pt sufficient opportunity to find another suitable healthcare professional to take over his or her medical treatment

Abandonment

A written document or oral statement that expresses the wants, needs, and desires of a patient in reference to future medical care- an example is living wills and organ donation

Advance directive

To create in another person a fear of immediate bodily harm or invasion of bodily security

Assault

Any act of touching another person in harmful or offensive way without that persons consent, includes providing emergency care without consent

Battery

A principle that absolves an institution of liability when one of its members acts beyond his or her scope of certification or training by following someone else’s orders

Borrowed servant doctrine

Refers to a certain level of training, such as a certificate or completion from a course or school

certification

An action instituted by a person or corporation against another person or corporation

Civil suit

Agreement by the patient to accept a medical intervention

consent

An action instituted by the government against a person for violation of criminal law

criminal prosecution

Compensation for injury awarded by a court

Damages

The patient’s ability to understand and process the information given to him or her about the proposed plan of prehospital care

decision-making capacity

Intentionally making a false statement, through written or verbal communication which injures a person’s good name or reputation

defamation

in a civil suit, the person whom the legal action is brought

Defendant

A legally binding, physician-initiated set of end of life treatment orders developed in consultation with a patient’s family or legal designate in the event that the patient is not able to express his or her own wishes and had not left an advanced directive

do not resuscitate order

A right to a fair procedure for a legal action against a person or agency has two components, notice and opportunity to be heard

Due process

Legal obligation of public and certain other ambulance services to respond to a call for help in their jurisdiction

A set of values in society that differentiates right from wrong

Ethics

a type of informed consent that occurs when the patient does something, wither through words or by taking some sort of action that demonstrates permission to provide care

Expressed consent

the intentional and unjustified detention of a person against his or her will

false imprisonment

A statute providing limited immunity from liability to people responding voluntarily and in good faith to the aid of an injured person outside of the hospital

Good Samaritan law

Negligence that is willful, wanton, intentional, or reckless. A serious departure from the accepted standards

Gross negligence

Legal protection from penalties that could be normally be incurred under the law

immunity

Assumption on the behalf of a person unable to give consent that he or she would have done so

implied consent

a patient’s voluntary agreement to be treated after being told about the nature of the disease the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment, alternate treatment, or the choice of no treatment at all.

informed consent

A finding in civil cases that the preponderance of the evidence shows the defendant was responsible for the plantiff’’s injuries

liability

Making false statements in written form that injures a person’s good name

Libel

the privilege to practice at a carefully defined level, usually granted by a provincial government agency or self-governing professional body

Licensure

professional actions or inaction on the part of the health care worker that does not meet the standard of ordinary care expected of similarly trained and prudent health care practitioners and that results in injury to the patient

negligence

negligence that is a failure to act or a simple mistake that causes harm to a patient

ordinary negligence

in a civil suit the person who brings a legal action against another person

plaintiff

the specific reason that an injury occurred, one of the items that must be proven in order for a paramedic to be held liable for negligence

proximate cause

What a province permits a paramedic practicing under its license or certification to do

scope of practice

verbally making a false statement that injures a person’s good name

Slander

What a reasonable paramedic with training would do in the same or similar situation

standard of care

used to describe an infant delivered 37-42 weeks of gestation

term

a wrongful act that gives rise to a civil suit

tort

Protection whereby the employer is held liable to compensate people for the harm caused by their employees in the course of their employment

vicarious liability