Professional Liability and Medical Malpractice

Health Science / Practicum

Rationale

• The health science student needs to know ethical behavior standards and legal responsibilities.

Objectives

• Identify legal terms utilized in healthcare.

• Correlate how professional liability, privacy, confidentiality, and the elements of negligence relate to court cases on medical ethics and standards of care.

Definitions:Professional liability

• Mosby’s medical dictionary: • Professional liability: the legal

obligation of health care professionals or their insurers to compensate patients for injury or suffering caused by acts of omission or commission by the professionals.

Professional Liability…….

• McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine:

• The obligation that a professional practitioner has to provide care or service that meets the standard of practice for his/her profession–i.e, responsibility; when a professional fails to provide the standard of practice, liability refers to the obligation to pay for damages incurred by negligent acts.

• Liability – being legally responsible for your own actions.

• Breach – failure to comply.

Definitions: Medical Malpractice

• Improper, unskilled, or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional.

• Medical Malpractice occurs when a negligent act or omission by a doctor or other medical professional results in damage or harm to a patient.

Key Points

• Competent adults are liable, or legally responsible, for their own acts, both on the job and in their private lives.

• Employers are liable for their employees in regards to:

• 1. Building / grounds: adequate upkeep to prevent injury.

• 2. Automobiles: if an employee uses their own car or their employer’s car, the employer must be adequately insured in case of an accident.

• 3. Employee safety – employers must provide a comfortable and safe work environment.

• Being responsible for our actions (or failure to act) under a responsible standard is Standard of Care.

• Professionals are held to a higher standard and may be held liable for negligence.

• Healthcare workers must be careful in the duties they perform; if they perform duties commonly assigned to those with a higher level of training and expertise, they may legally be held to a higher standard of care.

Privacy, Confidentiality and Privileged Communication

• It is a healthcare professional’s ethical and legal duty to safeguard a patient’s privacy.

• Confidentiality is the act of holding in confidence information that is not to be released to unauthorized individuals.

• Privileged communication is information held confidential within a protected relationship.

• Do not release information to a third party without a signed consent.

• When talking on the phone regarding test results, be sure no one else can hear.

• When leaving a message on an answering machine, just tell the patient to call the office regarding their recent appointment.

• Confidentiality may be waived:• If the patient sues the physician for

malpractice.• If the patient signs a waiver to release

information.

Tort of Negligence

• Unintentional tort of negligence is the basis for malpractice claims.

• Tort is a civil wrong committed against a person or property, including breach of contract.

• Negligence is an unintentional tort alleged when one may have performed or failed to perform an act that a reasonable person would or would not do under similar circumstances.

Medical Professional Liability claims

• Medical professional liability claims are classified in three ways:

• Malfeasance – performance of a totally wrongful and unlawful act.

• Misfeasance – performance of a lawful act in an illegal or improper manner.

• Nonfeasance – a failure to act when one should.

Four elements of negligence:

• The four elements that must be present to prove a healthcare professional is guilty of negligence:

• Duty – a person charged with negligence owed the duty of care to the victim.

• Derelict – a healthcare provider breached (failed to comply) with the duty of care to the patient.

Four elements……

• Direct cause – a breach of duty was the direct cause of the patient’s injury.

• Damages – monetary rewards sought by the plaintiffs (patients) in the lawsuit where there is a legally recognizable injury to a person.

Elements of a lawsuit:

• A patient feels he or she has been injured.• A patient seeks the advice of an attorney.• The attorney believes the case has merit,

and requests copies of patient’s medical records.

• Pleading Phase:• The patient’s attorney files a complaint with the

court.• A summons is issued by the court, and is

delivered to the defendant.

• Pleading phase, continued…..• A summons is issued by the court, and is

delivered to the defendant.• The defendant’s attorney files an answer to the

summons.• A cross complaint is made and the patient files

a reply.

• Interrogatory or Pretrial Discovery Phase:• The trial date is set by the court.• Pretrial motions may be made, such as a

dismissal or amendment of the original complaint.

• A court order (subpoena) is issued requiring that a deposition (sworn testimony) be taken.

• Interrogatory phase, continued…..• Someone may request an interrogatory,

which is a written set of questions requiring written answers.

• A pretrial conference with the judge, where attorneys discuss the issues in the case.

Trial Phase

• Jury selection• Opening statements by both attorneys• Witnesses take the stand• Closing statements by both attorneys• The jury’s verdict• The final judgment is handed down by

the court.

Appeals Phase

• Post-trial motions are filed.• Appeal the case to a higher court.

• Nine out of ten lawsuits are settled out of court, but many times healthcare practitioners are asked to give testimony. Two kinds of testimony:

• Fact – these are only the actual facts the witness has observed.

• Expert – must have relevant education, skills, knowledge, and experience to be judged as an expert in the trial.

Alternate Dispute Resolution

• As court calendars become overcrowded, alternative dispute resolution has become increasingly popular.

• Alternate Dispute Resolution consists of techniques for resolving civil disputes without going to court.

Alternate Dispute Resolution

• Methods used are:• Arbitration – a method of settling

disputes where both parties abide by the decision of an arbitrator and the arbitrator is selected directly by both parties.

• Mediation – a method in which a neutral third party listens to both sides and resolves the dispute. The mediator does not have authority to impose a solution.

Review of court cases:

• In small groups, review the court cases you are given. Identify if the court case involved liability, standard of care, privacy, confidentiality, privileged communication, negligence, or a combination of these.

• Then, discuss as a class.