Chap 2 - Med_Legal Aspects of ALS Care.txt

• 1) Constitutional Law
• 2) Common Law
• 3) Administrative Law
• 4) Legislative Law

Law based on US Constitution

Law that is derived from society's acceptance of customs & norms over time (ie. case law)

Law created by law-making bodies such as Congress & state assemblies (ie. statutory law)

Law that is enacted by gov't agencies at either fed or state level (ie. regulatory law)

• 1) Criminal
• 2) Civil

Division of the legal system that deals with wrongs committed against society or its members

The division of the legal system that deals with noncriminal issues & conflicts between 2 or more parties

A branch of civil law that deals with a civil wrong committed by one individual against another

• 1) Incident
• 2) Investigation
• 3) Filing of the Complaint
• 4) Answering of the complaint
• 5) Discovery
• 6) Trial
• 7) Decision
• 8) Appeal
• 9) Settlement

Range of duties & skills paramedics are allowed & expected to perform

Recognition granted to an individual who has met predetermined qualifications to participate in a certain activity

Gov't agency granting permission to a person who meets established qualifications to engage in a particular profession or occupation

• 1) Spouse Abuse
• 2) Child abuse/neglect
• 3) Elder Abuse
• 4) Sexual Assault
• 5) GSW or stab wounds
• 6) Animal bites
• 7) Communicable Diseases

Exemption of legal liability

Laws that provide immunity to certain people who assist at the scene of a medical emergency

Deviation from accepted standards of care recognized by law for the protection of others against the unreasonable risk of harm

• 1) Duty to Act
• 2) Breach of that Duty
• 3) Actual Damages
• 4) Proximate Cause

A formal contractual or informal legal obligation to provide care

An action or inaction that violates the standard of care expected from a paramedic

The degree of care, skill, & judgment that would be expected under like or similar circumstances by a similarly trained, reasonable paramedic in the same community

• 1) Malfeasance
• 2) Misfeasance
• 3) Nonfeasance

a breach of duty by performance of a wrongful or unlawful act

a breach of duty by performance of a legal act in a manner that is harmful or injurious

A breach of duty by failure to perform a required act or duty

a legal doctrine invoked by the plaintiffs to support a claim of negligence (ie. the thing speaks for itself)

Compensable physical, psychological or financial harm

An action or inaction of the paramedic that immediately caused or worsened the damage suffered by the patient

• 1) Good Samaritan Laws
• 2) Gov't Immunity
• 3) Statute of Limitations
• 4) Contributory or Comparative Negligence

Prinicpal of law that prohibits the release of medical or other personal info about a patient w/o the patient's consent

An intentional false communication that injures another person's reputation or good name

Act of injuring a person's character, name or reputation by false statements made in writing or thru mass media with malicious intent or reckless disregard for the falsity of those statements

Act of injuring a person's character, name or reputation by false or malicious statements spoken w/ malicious intent or reckless disregard for the falsity of those statements

The pt's granting of permission for treatment

Able to make an informed decision about medical care

• 1) Informed
• 2) Expressed
• 3) Implied
• 4) Involuntary

Consent for treatment that is given based on full disclosure of information

Verbal, nonverbal or written communication by a pt that he wishes to receive medical care

Consent for tx that is presumed for a pt who is mentally, physically, or emotionally unable to grant consent (ie. emergency doctrine)

Consent to tx granted by the authority of a court order

Depending on the state law, usually a person under the age of 18

a person who is under 18 y/o who is married, pregnant, parent, member of armed forces, or financially independent & living away from home

Termination of the medic-patient relationship without assurance that an equal or greater level of care will continue

An act that unlawfully places a person in apprehension of immediate bodily harm w/o his consent

the unlawful touching of another person w/o his consent

Intentional & unjustifiable detention of a person w/o his consent or other legal authority

Minimal amt of force necessary to ensure that a violent person does not cause injury to himself or others

Document created to ensure that certain treatment choices are honored when a pt is unconscious or otherwise unable to express his choice of tx

• 1) Living Wills
• 2) Durable powers of attorney for health care
• 3) DNR orders
• 4) Organ Donor cards

Legal document that allows a person to specify the kinds of medical tx he wishes to receive should the need arise

Legal document that indicates to medical personnel which life sustaining measures should be taken when the pt's heart & respiratory functions have ceased

• 1) Completed promptly after patient care
• 2) Its thorough
• 3) Its objective
• 4) Its accurate
• 5) It maintains pt confidentiality