Medical Law and Ethics Ch 1 Key terms

Question 1

Administrative Law

Answer 1

Establishes laws between citizens and government agencies and provides certain power to the agencies to enforce these laws and regulations.

Question 2

Admissions of fact

Answer 2

Discovery technique that asks the opposing party (in Writing) to admit or deny any material fact or the authenticity of documents to be introduced into evidence at trial.

Question 3

Appellate court

Answer 3

A court that hears appeals from lower court decision; sometimes called court of appeals

Question 4

Assault

Answer 4

A threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension of such harm or contact

Question 5

Battery

Answer 5

Bodily harm or unlawful touching of another. In the medical field, treating the patient without consent is considered battery.

Question 6

Civil Lawsuit

Answer 6

A noncriminal lawsuit for damages, usually based in tort, contract, labor or privacy issues.

Question 7

Common law

Answer 7

Law of precedents built on a case-by-case basis and established by citing interpretation of existing laws by judges in previous suits. Also known as “judge made law.”

Question 8

Criminal Law

Answer 8

State or federal government law covering violations of a written criminal code or statute.

Question 9

Defendant

Answer 9

Person or entity sued

Question 10

Discovery

Answer 10

Process of gathering information in preparation for trial

Question 11

Executive branch

Answer 11

President of the United States or the governor of an individual state. Can propose laws, veto laws proposed by the legislature, enforce laws, and establish agencies.

Question 12

Federal Court

Answer 12

Court having jurisdiction over cases in which the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes apply; these can be federal district courts (trial courts), district courts of appeals, or the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 13

Felony

Answer 13

Serious crime punishable by relatively large fines and /or imprisonment for more than 1 year and, in extreme cases, death.

Question 14

In Personam jurisdiction

Answer 14

A court’s power to adjudicate cases filed against a specific individual, as opposed to in rem jurisdiction, which concerns property disputes.

Question 15

Interrogatory

Answer 15

Pretrial set of written questions that must be answered in writing under oath and returned with in a given time frame.

Question 16

Judicial Branch

Answer 16

Federal constitutional court system; one of the three parts of the US federal government; interprets legislation and determines its constitutionality and applies it to specific cases. May overrule cases presented on appeal from lower courts.

Question 17

Jurisdiction

Answer 17

Authority given by law to a court to try cases and rule on legal matters within a geographical area and/or over certain types of legal cases.

Question 18

Law

Answer 18

The foundation of the statutes, rules, and regulations that governs people, relationships, behaviors, and interactions with the state, society, and federal government.

Question 19

Legislative branch

Answer 19

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and any similar state legislature that develops statutory law.

Question 20

Malpractice

Answer 20

The failure of a professional to meet the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent member of the profession would exercise in similar circumstances; it results in harm.

Question 21

Medical Ethics

Answer 21

Principles based on the medical profession that determines moral behavior.

Question 22

Medical Law

Answer 22

Laws that are prescribed to pertain specifically to the medical field.

Question 23

Misdemeanor

Answer 23

Lesser crime punishable by usually modest fines or penalties established by the state of federal government and/or imprisonment of less than 1 year.

Question 24

Negligence

Answer 24

The failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances; an act of omission or failure to do what a person of ordinary prudence would have done under similar circumstances.

Question 25

Plaintiff

Answer 25

The person or entity bringing a suit or claim.

Question 26

Res ipsa loquitur

Answer 26

In Latin: “the thing speaks for itself.” Legal doctrine that there is clear proof that the defendant had the responsibility (duty) to the patient and that the injury would not and could not have occurred without the negligence of the defendant.

Question 27

Standard of care

Answer 27

The average knowledge and expertise that once can expect from a health care professional in the same area or filed and with the same base of training.

Question 28

Stare decisis

Answer 28

In Latin: “to stand by the things decided” or to adhere to a decided case; condition in which, once a court rules, that decision becomes law for other cases. Also, know as a precedent.

Question 29

State supreme court

Answer 29

Highest court in any given state in the US court system.

Question 30

Statute

Answer 30

Written laws enacted by the state or federal legislative branch

Question 31

Defense Statute of limitations

Answer 31

Defense against a tort action; requires that a claim be filled within a specific amount of time of discovering that a wrong has been committed.

Question 32

Statutory Law

Answer 32

Written laws, usually enacted by a legislative body, that include regulatory, administrative, and common laws.

Question 33

Supreme Court of the United States

Answer 33

Highest court in the United States, having ultimate judicial authority within the United States to interpret and decide questions of federal law. It is the head of the judicial branch of the US government.

Question 34

Tort

Answer 34

A wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another’s person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

Question 35

Writ of certiorari

Answer 35

Order a higher court issues to review the decision and proceeding in a lower court and determine whether there were any irregularities.