Tort Case Study Carolann Stanek University of Mary Health Care Law: Tort Case Study A sample case study reviewed substandard care that was delivered to Ms. Gardner after having sustained an accident and brought to Bay Hospital for treatment. This is where if you make derogatory remarks against the patient, and it harms the patient's reputation, that would be considered defamation of character. Torts are split into two main groups - intentional and unintentional. 80 will take effect on April 6, 2005, and will undoubtedly prompt an increase in Ohio tort filings as that date approaches. And in terms of documentation, like I shared here a minute ago, you need to be documenting the rationale for why the patient's in restraints, how long they've been in restraints, and what care was offered and provided to the patient. Defamation of character is the act of making derogatory remarks that harm a patients reputation. Unintentional torts are against another person producing injury or harm. As per common legal jurisdictions, wrongful conduct is taken into account civil wrongdoing that's expected to or believed to own caused the applicant hurt or loss. Patients have a right to the least restrictive environment, and so the least restrictive restraints possible should always be chosenin many cases, that option is hand mittens. tort Law & medicine An act deemed unlawful and capable of triggering a civil action; the wrongdoer-tortfeasor may be held liable in damages. The three torts that emerged from the concept of trespass to the person assault, battery and false imprisonment are actionable per se that is without proof of damage (although if the wrongful act, does result in injury, damages can be recovered for that injury as well). Thanks so much for watching, and happy studying! Intentional torts are willful acts that violate a patient's rights. 3. It's important to understand these unintentional torts so you can be informed enough to do your best to avoid these acts. It was something that was done with intent. Assault is the intentional act of making someone fear that you will cause them harm. Intentional infliction of emotional distress: This tort case describes the situation where a defendant intends to cause distress in the mind and person of the plaintiff. Maintain competence through continuing education, participation in professional conferences, membership in professional organizations, and subscriptions to professional journals. Try NURSING.com Risk Free for 3 Days. Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts, National Adult Protective Services Association website, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Client Rights for Minors, Frequent Allegations and SBON Investigations, Courtroom Trial with Judge, Jury - Vector Image, https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000569476.17357.f5, https://wilawlibrary.gov/jury/civil/instruction.php?n=1005, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.1989.tb00575.x, Concept of Data Privacy And Policy Illustration, https://www.nso.com/Learning/Artifacts/Claim-Reports/Minimizing-Risk-Achieving-Excellence, https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/id/reduction-of-patient-restraint-and-seclusion-in-health-care-settings/, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. In this article, we explain torts and restraints. After torts we'll explain restraints, then we'll summarize the key differences between false imprisonment and restraints. The tort of false imprisonment denies a patient their autonomy; patients have the right to leave even when it's against medical advice. Alright. Anyone, including nurses, can be liable for negligence. I love the lesson.very simplified, been confused about the terms but Im clear now. Confidentiality is the right of an individual to have personal, identifiable medical information, referred to as protected health information, kept private. This includes assessing and predicting the patients threat of violence towards another person or groups of people and taking action to protect the identified victims.[11]. Adhere to organizational policies and procedures. The failure to exercise the ordinary care a reasonable person would use in similar circumstances. Malpractice lawsuits are concerned with the legal obligations nurses have to their patients to adhere to current standards of practice. An aspect of tort where nurses tend to be liable is in respect to obtaining consent from a client before performing care and in witnessing an informed consent before a procedure. Restraints can be physical, chemical, or verbal. [21], The fourth element of malpractice is harm. It's the following through of that threat. If your patient is experiencing abuse, they need to know what to do the next time this happens, or when they are ready to leave. So this is if for instance I then did something to a patient such as administer a medication, if I gave them a shot that they refused and they were capable of refusing, that would be battery. Psychiatric Mental Health - Nursing Flashcards, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Flashcards, Intentional Vs. Unintentional Torts and Mandatory Reporting, Psychiatric Mental Health - Nursing Flashcards So as a nurse, you have a duty to a patient, and you need to provide a certain standard of care. Negligence represents the most common type of tort filed as a civil lawsuit, while unintentional negligence means the healthcare provider that harmed you did not mean to do it. 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Julie M. Mroczek, BSN, RN-BC, CLNC, is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant in North Platte, NE, and has researched and developed legal medical personnel injury and malpractice cases for attorneys for the last 5 years.She has worked as an in-patient charge nurse, clinical research coordinator doing research for pharmaceutical companies, and has served . If that is confusing, think of it like a prescription and refills. So another cool chicken here, slander is spoken, but libel is written, like a book in the library. Intentional tort cases happen when one person harms another on purpose. Nurses also have a legal duty to be physically, mentally, and morally fit for practice. I always want you to tell me in the comments if you have a better way to remember it. Professional negligence is a tort committed by a licensed professional, in this case a nurse. Legal Issues In Nursing About the Authors. An example of possible false imprisonment in health care is the use of restraints. The timing, like the requirements, may vary according to the facility, but in general, it's about every two hours. Be sure to subscribe to the channel so that you can be kept up-to-date with all of our new content. Malpractice is a more specific term than negligence as it speaks to the agent (actor) in the situation. e.g. And if you fail to do so, and that results in patient harm, then you would be guilty of malpractice. A tort is when someone commits a wrongful action or violates someone else's personal, property, or dignity rights, resulting in civil action against them. [5], An example related to assault and battery in health care is the patients right to refuse treatment. Mandatory reporting and duty to warn and protect are additional examples of a nurses duty. In terms of the orders for restraints, providers must do an in-person assessment within 24 hours of initiation of the restraints or seclusion. The provider MUST do an in-person assessment within 24 hrs of initiation of restraints or seclusion. Okay, last, on card 11 we are talking about mandatory reporting. In our Psychiatric Mental Health series, we cover signs of abuse. See Figure 5.2[7] for an image of a simulated client in full physical medical restraints. Nurses must take care in their oral communication and documentation to avoid defaming clients or coworkers. In nursing torts, battery is the touching of a patient, without consent, that causes harm. [3] For example, in nursing, if you were to gossip about a patient aloud to another nurse, "Did you hear that this patient did such-and-such?" Personal relationships with patients or their families can be red flags for juries and can be viewed as evidence of departure from professional standards. 2023 Nurses are required to adhere to standards of practice when providing care to patients they have been assigned. Updated: December 07, 2022 The Fundamentals of Nursing video series follows along with our Fundamentals of Nursing flashcards, which are intended to help RN and PN nursing students study for nursing school exams, including the ATI, HESI, and NCLEX. Criminal law is a system of laws that punishes individuals who commit crimes. For example, if you were to say, "If you don't stop acting up, I am going to tie you down," or "I am going to hit you," those would be threats against a patient and thus, assault. Well, I need to interview the suspected abuser and the patient separately, so this way if it's a parent and a child, right, I can ask the child about, so how did you break your arm? Common intentional torts are battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, trespass to chattels, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The first is assault. View the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Client Rights for Minors. Restraints used incorrectly could be considered the tort of false imprisonment, so it's extremely important to understand these definitions in psychiatric mental healthcare. In your Fundamentals of Nursing coursework, you will likely need to learn about, and be alert to, some legal requirements of the nursing profession as well as legal violations. imprisonment) Negligence torts (negligence, malpractice) and. (Berman and Synder, 2012) Thanks, I like the explanation, its very simplifing. Most malpractice lawsuits name physicians or hospitals as defendants, although nurses can be individually named. Slander is any defamation of character that is spoken, so if I gossiped and I knew something was untrue and I said to another nurse, "Did you hear so-and-so?" 5. Intentional torts are wrongs that the defendant knew (or should have known) would be caused by their actions. So for instance, if we have a patient that we put in seclusion, and we didn't have an order for it, then that would be false imprisonment. Slander and libel are intentional torts. Hi. Brous, E. (2019). Clear, Concise, Visual Nursing School Supplement. Torts can be categorized as intentional or unintentional. Individually identifiable health information, including demographic data, that relates to the individuals past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual; and the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual. These flashcards will help you learn and retain the key information. So hopefully you did well with that little knowledge check. See Malpractice, Negligence Opthalmology verb To rotate an eye on its anteroposterior axis. Read on to find out. Up next we're talking about abandonment, and abandonment is what it sounds like. Nurses and other mental health professionals have a duty to warn and protect third parties when they may be in danger from a patient. Some torts specific to nursing and nursing practice include things like malpractice, negligence and violations relating to patient confidentiality. Some people possess the misconception that a tort becomes intentional tort only when it results in actual harm. Malpractice which is a non-intentional tort occurs when the nurse occurs when . A tort is a civil wrong that causes harm to another person by violating a protected right. Nurses must vigilantly follow agency policies related to the use of physical restraints and monitor clients who are restrained. Engage the chain of command with patient concerns and pursuing concerns to resolution. So in my mind assault and battery kind of sound the same and it can be confusing to differentiate the two. If a nurse forcibly administers medication without a patients consent, it could be ruled assault or battery in a court of law. For example, a hospitalized patient can refuse to take prescribed medication. Some state laws make it optional for clinicians to inform parents/guardians if their child is seeking services related to sexual health care, substance use, or mental health care. Lastly, I do want provide information to any vulnerable adult about safe houses or shelters that they can find refuge in and they can be safe in. The 24 hours is like the maximum "number of refills.". A complaint can be filed against a nurse by anyone, such as a patient, a patients family member, a colleague, or an employer. Assault is a threat made against a person that makes them fearful. Plus your chicken icon helped. For example, if you were the nurse on duty, assigned to a patient, and you just decided to abruptly go home without handing over care to anybody else, that would be abandonment. If, as a nurse, you don't do that, you fail to provide the wound care and you don't reposition the patient every two hours, and that wound deteriorates and causes sepsis - so that's the patient harm - then you would be guilty of nursing malpractice. These are available on our website, LevelUpRN.com, so if you are following along with me at home, these are going to be cards 9, 10 and 11. Injuries can be physical, emotional, financial, professional, marital, or any combination of these. They may not want to leave at this time, but what we can do is develop a safety plan. And as nurses we are mandatory reporters, meaning that by law, we are required to report any suspicion of abuse for a child, a vulnerable adult, or an elder. Restraints and seclusion are only indicated when a patient poses an imminent danger to themselves or others. A professional, or in this case a nurse, has a duty to act to provide care or prevent harm, but failed to act in the correct capacity. Torts are wrongful acts that cause someone to suffer harmin nursing, this can be an action or inaction by a nurse that causes a patient harm. If not, go back and watch the video. Now an intentional tort is a willful act that violates a patient's rights. Allegations can be directly related to a nurses clinical responsibilities, or they can be nonclinical (such as operating a vehicle under the influence of a substance, exhibiting unprofessional behavior, or committing billing fraud). The type of torts involved can be classified as negligence (unintentional), Assault or Battery (intentional). If we say to a patient that I'm going to hit you or something like that, again, that is assault because it is a threat. If you get a call from a patient's family member seeking information about the patient, you may not provide the information unless the patient has given explicit permission. Anyone, including nurses, can be liable for negligence. The specific rights protected give rise to the unique "elements" of each tort. That would be negligence - where you had a duty to act, for instance, and then you failed to act in the correct capacity. Reasonably prudent means someone of sound mind and good reasoning capabilities. This is another example of nurses being held to a higher standard because of their job and licensingif a random person suspects abuse, they are not legally required by any laws or regulations to report it, but nurses are. This information on reporting suspicion of abuse is for your nursing exams and nursing practice. Defamation of character occurs when an individual makes negative, malicious, and false remarks about another person to damage their reputation. Slander is any defamation of character that is spoken. regardless of whether they are brought in contract, tort, under a statute, or under any other cause of action. So we have our cool chicken hint right here is A before B, right? If a patient was trying to leave against medical advice and you physically blocked the door, that is false imprisonment and an intentional tort. From 1998 to 2001, for instance, the number of malpractice payments made by nurses increased from 253 to 413 (see Figure 1, page 55).The trend shows no signs of stopping, 1-3 despite efforts by nursing educators to inform nurses and student nurses of their legal and . For example, in nursing, if you made an internet post about the aforementioned gossip known to be false, or printed out signs about it and hung them up in the hospital, and you knew these statements were untrue, that would be libel. Damages fall into several categories, including compensatory (economic) damages, noneconomic damages, and punitive damages.[24]. Both of them are defamation of character, but they're slightly different. But, an order for the restraints needs to be given as soon as possible by the provider after their application. There are also separate areas of tort law including nuisance, defamation, invasion of privacy, and a category of economic torts. In this video, we are going to cover torts as well as restraints and seclusion. In reaching their opinions, experts review many materials, including the states Nurse Practice Act and organizational policies, to determine whether the nurse adhered to them. Uses And Abuses Of Tort Law In The COVID-19 Era. The Texas legislature passed sweeping changes to the tort system in 2003 that apply uniformly to medical malpractice and nursing home claims. I need to document anything that leads me to suspect this. 1. assault: it is an atteMpt or threat to touch another person unjustifiably. Torts are wrongful acts that cause a patient to suffer harm. while knowing that it was untrue. For nurses specifically, negligence, as defined by the American Journal of Nursing, most often shows up in one of six ways: Failure to Follow Standards of Care Failure to Use Equipment in a Responsible Manner Failure to Communicate Failure to Document Failure to Assess and Monitor However, most nursing home abuse and negligence cases go unreported and unknown to an elderly person's loved ones. Torts: Torts are civil laws that address the legal rights of patients and the responsibilities of the nurse in the nurse patient relationship. The difference between assault and battery is that assault is the threat, but battery is actually carrying it out and physically causing harm. So false imprisonment is keeping somebody somewhere against their will, when they should otherwise be free to go. False imprisonment is an important tort to understand in the context of restraints. You did not meet the standard of care. This means that if a patient has had restraints on, gotten them off, and later became an imminent threat to others again, there is not considered to be an existing order in place for restraints. In the psychiatric/mental health setting, these are important concepts to understand together. We're in a brave new world, as y . Tort law exists to compensate clients injured by negligent practice, provide corrective judgment, and deter negligence with consequences of action or inaction. 6,500+ Practice NCLEX Questions; 2,000+ HD Videos; 300+ Nursing Cheatsheets; Start Trial. Torts are something that you will need to know about in your Fundamentals of Nursing course, which is why we cover them in our Fundamentals of Nursing Flashcards as well as in our Fundamentals series article on Intentional Vs. Unintentional Torts and Mandatory Reporting. A tort is a legal wrong which one person or entity (the tortfeasor) commits against another person or entity and for which the usual remedy is an award of damages. You always want to remove restraints right away, as soon as the patient is no longer requiring those and is no longer a threat to themselves or to others. Depending on the exact tort alleged, either general or specific intent will need to be proven. The tort of false imprisonment denies a patient their autonomy; patients have the right to leave even when it's against medical advice. Additional information regarding the use of restraints is discussed in the Patient Rights section. End of Document Resource ID 6-107-7397 2023 Thomson Reuters. In addition to being held liable in a court of law, nurses can have their licenses suspended or revoked by the State Board of Nursing (SBON) for unsafe nursing practice. Unintentional torts are unintended acts against a patient that cause them harm. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. Civil law focuses on the rights, responsibilities, and legal relationships between private citizens, and involves compensation to the injured party. For example, you administered a medication to a patient after they refused, that would be battery. [20], Plaintiffs must be able to link the defendants acts or omissions to the harm for which they are seeking compensation. That assault is the intentional act of making someone fear that you will cause them harm ; have... Compensatory ( economic ) damages, noneconomic damages, and punitive damages. 24. By negligent practice, provide corrective judgment, and will undoubtedly prompt an increase in Ohio tort filings as date! 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A protected right physical restraints and seclusion this information on reporting suspicion of abuse for. More about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices can be physical,,! Of action or inaction that is confusing, think of it like a prescription and refills. `` &. Cause them harm or tort in nursing abandonment, and deter negligence with consequences of action inaction... Care to patients they have been assigned flags for juries and can be kept up-to-date with all our! It out and physically causing harm about abandonment, and a category of economic torts nurse in situation!