Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 1 Krissy Espinosa Advance health care directive- a variety of legal and lay

documents that allow persons to specify aspects of care they wish to receive should they become unable to make or communicate their preferences Answer- (legal) a written response made by the defendant Assault- an attempt or threat to touch another person unjustifiably Autopsy- an examination of the body after death to determine the cause of death and to learn more about a disease process Battery- (legal) the willful or negligent touching of a person (or the person's clothes or even something the person is carrying), which may or may not cause harm Breach of Duty- a standard of care that is expected in the specific situation but that the nurse did not observe; this is the failure to act as a reasonable, prudent nurse under the circumstances Burden of proof- the duty of proving an assertion Causation- a fact that must be proven that the harm occurred as a direct result of the nurse's failure to follow the standard of care and the nurse could have (or should have) known that failure to follow the standard of care could result in such harm Civil action- deals with the relationship between individuals in society Civil law- the body of law that deals with relationships among private individuals; also known as private law Common law- the body of principles that evolves from court decisions Complaint- (legal) a document filed by a plaintiff Contract- a written or verbal agreement between two or more people to do or not do some lawful act

Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 2 Krissy Espinosa Contract law- the enforcement of agreements among private individuals or the payment of compensation for failure to fulfill the agreement Contractual obligations- duty of care established by the presence of an expressed or implied contract Contractual relationships- vary among practice settings; may be as an independent or employeremployee relationship Coroner- a physician who is authorized by the county or other government agency to determine causes of deaths under unusual circumstances Credentialing- the process of determining and maintaining competence in practice; includes licensure, registration, certification, and accreditation Crime- an act committed in violation of public (criminal) law and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment Criminal actions- deal with disputes between an individual and the society as a whole Criminal law- deals with actions against the safety and welfare of the public Damages- if malpractice caused the injury, the nurse is held liable for damages that may be compensated Decision- (legal) outcome made by a judge Defamation- (legal) a communication that is false, or made with careless disregard for the truth, and results in injury to the reputation of another Defendants- (legal) person against whom a plaintiff files a complaint Delegation- transference of responsibility and authority for an activity to a competent individual Discovery- (legal) pretrial activities to gain all of the facts of a situation

Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 3 Krissy Espinosa Do not resuscitate (DNR)- written when the client has expressed the wish for no resuscitation in the event of a respiratory or cardiac arrest; goal of treatment is a comfortable, dignified death Duty- the nurse must have (or should have had) a relationship with the client that involves providing care and following an acceptable standard of care Euthanasia- the act of painlessly putting to death persons suffering from incurable or distressing disease Expert witness- one who has special training, experience, or skill in a relevant area and is allowed by the court to offer an opinion on some issue within that area of expertise Express consent- an oral or written agreement False imprisonment- the unlawful restraint or detention of another person against his or her wishes Felony- a crime of a serious nature, such as murder, punishable by a term in prison Foreseeability- a link that must exist between the nurse's act and the injury suffered Gross negligence- involves extreme lack of knowledge, skill, or decision making that the person clearly should have known would put others at risk for harm Harm- (Injury) the client or plaintiff must demonstrate some type of harm or injury (physical, financial, or emotional) as a result of the breach of duty owed the client; the plaintiff will be asked to document physical injury, medical costs, loss of wages, "pain and suffering," and any other damages Health care proxy- a legal statement that appoints a proxy to make medical decisions for the client in the event the client is unable to do so Impaired nurse- a nurse whose practice has deteriorated because of chemical abuse

Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 4 Krissy Espinosa Implied consent- consent that is assumed in an emergency when consent cannot be obtained from the client or a relative Implied contract- a contract that has not been explicitly agreed to by the paries but the law nevertheless considers to exist Informed consent- a clients agreement to accept a course of treatment or a procedure after receiving complete information, including the risks of treatment and facts relating to it, from the health care provider Injury- the client or plaintiff must demonstrate some type of harm or injury (physical, financial, or emotional) as a result of the breach of duty woed the client the plaintiff will be asked to document physical injury, medical costs, loss of wages, pain and suffering and any other damages Inquest- a legal inquiry into the cause or manner of a death Interstate compact- an agreement between two or more states Invasion of privacy- a direct wrong of a personal nature, it injures the feelings of the person and does not take into account the effect of revealed information on the standing of the person in the community Law- a rule made by humans that regulates social conduct in a formally prescribed and binding manner Liability- the quality or state of being legally responsible for ones obligations and action and to make financial restitution for wrongful acts Libel- defamation by means of print, writing, or pictures License- a legal permit granted to individuals to engage in the practice of a profession and to use a particular title

Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 5 Krissy Espinosa Litigation- the action of a lawsuit Living will- a document that states medical treatments the client chooses to omit or refuse in the event that the client is unable to make these decisions Malpractice- the negligent acts of persons engaged in professions or occupations in which highly technical or professional skills are employed Mandated reporters- a role of the nurse in which he or she identifies and assesses cases of violence against others, and in every case the situation must be reported to the proper authorities Manslaughter- second degree murder Medical examiner- a physician who usually has advanced education in pathology or forensic medicine who determines the causes of death Misdemeanor- a legal offense usually punishable by a fine or a short-term jail sentence, or both Mutual recognition model- a regulatory model developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, which allows for multistate licensure Negligence- failure to behave in a reasonable and prudent manner an unintentional tort Plaintiff-a person claiming infringement of legal rights by one or more persons Postmortem examination- an examination of the body after death to determine the cause of death and to learn more about a disease process Private law- the body of law that deals with relationships between private individuals Public law- refers to the body of law that deals with relationships between individuals and the government and governmental agencies Res ipsa loquitur- the thing that speaks for itself a legal doctrine that relates to negligence in which the harm cannot be traced to a specific health care provider or standard but does not normally occur unless there has been a negligent act

Chapter 4 Legal Aspects of Nursing Vocabulary 6 Krissy Espinosa Respondeat superior- a legal term meaning let the master answer the employer assumes responsibility for the conduct of the employee and can also be held responsible for malpractice by the employee Responsibility- the specific accountability or liability associated with the performance of duties of a particular role Right- (legal) a privilege or fundamental power to which an individual is entitled unless it is revoked by law or given up voluntarily Slander- defamation by the spoken word, stating unprivileged (not legally protected) or false words by which a reputation is damaged Standards of care- the skills and learning commonly possessed by members of a profession Statutory laws- a law enacted by any legislative body Strike- an organized work stoppage by a group of employees to express a grievance, enforce a demand for changes in condition of employment, or solve a dispute with management Tort- a civil wrong committed against a person or a persons property Tort law- law that defines and enforces duties and rights among private individuals that are not based on contractual agreements Trial- the period during which all relevant facts are presented to a jury or judge Unprofessional conduct- one of the grounds for action against the nurse S license includes incompetence or gross negligence, conviction of practicing without a license, falsification of client records, and illegally obtaining, using, or possessing controlled substances Verdict- the outcome by a jury