Question

You are the health information manager at General Hospital. Your in-house counsel has been contacted by an attorney for a former patient of the hospital whose inpatient hospitalization resulted in some harm to the patient. That harm was documented in an incident report prepared by hospital staff. Internal legal review of the incident report indicates that the harm described by the patient’s attorney is consistent with the harm described in the incident report. Based on the conversations between General Hospital counsel and the patient’s attorney, the counsel believes a lawsuit is imminent.

1. Which source(s) of law might govern this scenario (ie. Judicial or Civil) and give an example of one source of law that would be applicable.

Answer 1

1.this scenario related to civil law.

LAW;

It can be defined as those rules made by humans who regulated social conduct in a formally prescribed and legally binding manner.laws are based upon concern for fairness and justice.

Law is a rule or standard of human conduct established and enforced by authority, society or custom to regulate behaviour.

Function;

It provides a framework for establishing which nursing action in the care of clients are legal.

It different the nurse responsibility from those of other health professionals.

It helps to establish the boundaries of independent nursing action.

It assist in maintaining a standard of nursing practice by making nurse accountable under the law.

Importance of law for nurses;

Nurse have more responsibility

Increased no of advanced practice nurse

Helps in decision making process involved in nursing practice

Protection of nurses

To identify the risk of liability.

Purpose of law;

Safeguard the public

Safeguard the nurse

Good report

Standard of care

Standing order

Documentaction

Counting of sponges

Consent for operation

Good samitan law

Source of law;

Statutory laws

It is passed by legislative body or parliament of state in accordance with the constitution law.

Eg

States statutell are the nurse practice act.these nurse practice act describe and define the legal boundaries of nursing practice with each state.

Civil law

It protect the rights of individual persons with in our society and encourage fair and equitable treatment among people.

Civil law which deals with crimes against a person or persons in such legal matters as

Contracts

Torts

Protective reporting law

Contract

APPLICABLE LAW;

TORT LAW:

Is the enforcement of duties and rights among independent of contractual agreements. It Ian so civil wrong committed on a person or property streaming from either a direct invasion of some legal rights of the person, infraction of some public duty or the violations of some private obligation by which damage occur to the person.

Example;

Neligence and malpractice

Assault of battery

False imprisonment

Restraints or seclusion

Invasion of privacy

Defamation

Fraud

Intentional torts

Unintentional torts

Malpractice

Negligence

Liability is an obligation one has incurred or might through any act or failure to act.

Neligence (breach of duty) is the failure of an individual to provide care that a reasonable person would ordinarily use in a similar circumstances .defendant is the person being sued. Plainfitted is the party who initiatives the law suits that seek demage .or negligence is conduct that falls below the standard of care.

Malpractice;

Malpractice is one type of Neligence. It is referred to as professional negligence. Nursing malpractice results when nursing care falls below the standard of care that results in harm to another person. When a nurse commit a negligent act that results in injury it is known as malpractice.

Breach of duty:

Breach of duty may occur when a nurse fails to act in accordance with the standard of care.An act of commission or omission of the nursemay constitue a breach of the standard of care.

Informed consent ;

It means that the client understand the reason for the proposed intervention and it's benefits and risk and agrees to the treatment by signify a consent form.

Safety ;

The promotion of physical safety in one of the most important responsibility of the nurse. There are four areas regarding client safety in which nurses are at legal.

Malpractice refers wrongful conduct,improper discharge of professional duties or failure to meet the standard of acceptable care which results in harm to another person.

The law consider as a system of rules helps to govern the way people live together is made effective in part by threats of punishment. It is dependent may be seen as justified in its own rights. Through their medical errors cause harm to patient .

There are various sources of information on the harm from health care.the most compelling is a serious of screened hospital medical records selected at random for indicators of adverse events. E.g

Medical records reviews

Routine data collection

Observations studies

Population surveys this data help to assess harm to the patient.