1. Chapter 7Legal Responsibilities for Practice

2. Question Is the following statement true or false?
Law includes those rules of conduct or action recognized as binding or enforced by government.

3. Understanding the Scope of the Law
Ethics:

4. Question
What type of law includes all written laws and government codes?
A. Statutory law
B. Constitutional law
C. Enacted law
D. Regulatory law

5. Sources of Law Statutory law Constitutional law Enacted law
Regulatory law
Common law
Judicial law
Common usage and custom

6. Statutory Law All written laws and governmental codes
Constitutional law
U.S. constitution
State constitution
Enacted law—

7. Regulatory Law
Administrative or Executive law

8. Other Factors Affecting Legal Decision
Administrative rulings
Rights and responsibilities in healthcare
Institutional policies, protocols, and procedures

9. Institutional Policies and Protocols

10. Question Is the following statement true or false?
Violations of Criminal law are considered torts, whereas violations of Civil law are considered crimes.

11. Classification of Laws
Criminal law
Civil law

12. Criminal Law and Nursing
Performance outside the nurse practice act
Medication administration
Distribution of controlled substances
Committing crimes while in the role of caregiver

13. Civil Law and Nursing
Torts:
Negligence:
Malpractice:

14. Essential Elements of Negligence
Harm
Duty
Breach of duty
Causation

15. Question Is the following statement true or false?
Malpractice actions brought against healthcare workers involve Criminal law.

16. Liability Liability Personal liability Employer liability
Supervisory liability
Limits on patient’s claim to negligence

17. Employer Liability
Torts committed by an employee called respondeat superior
Employer responsible for:
Supervisor responsible for:

18. Charitable Immunity Institutional charitable immunity
Charitable immunity for volunteers in health settings
Good Samaritan laws

19. Liability Insurance
Transfers cost of being sued and cost of any settlement from the individual to an insurance company, which spreads the risks to a large group
Institutional and individual insurance
Analyzing liability insurance coverage

20. Legal Issues Common in Nursing
Duty
Nursing responsibility
Confidentiality
Defamation
Communication

21. Informed Consent Consent for medical treatment
Consent for nursing measures
Competence to give consent
Withdrawing consent
Consent and minors

22. Advance Directives Living will
Durable power of attorney for healthcare
Physician orders for life sustaining treatments
Patient Self-Determination Act

23. Emergency Care Consent in emergencies
Standards of practice and emergencies
Protocols and emergencies
Noninstitutional emergency care

24. Legal Issues in Nursing
Fraud
Assault and battery
False imprisonment

25. Factors that Contribute to Malpractice Claims
Discuss

26. Preventing Malpractice Claims
Discuss in class

27. Elements of a Legal Action

28. The Nurse as Witness The nurse as witness to fact
The nurse as expert witness