Upload
karma
View
28
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Civil Liability Issues. Chapter 7. Objectives. Define Intentional torts of battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, trespass, trespass to chattels, conversion, and misrepresentation. Objectives. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Civil Liability Issues
Chapter 7
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Objectives
• Define– Intentional torts of battery, assault, false
imprisonment, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, trespass, trespass to chattels, conversion, and misrepresentation
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Explain how consent is a defense to battery, assault, and false imprisonment.
• Define implied and informed consent.• Explain that a competent adult has an absolute right
to decline medical care.
Objectives
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Identify factors involved in determining if a person lacks capacity to consent to, or decline, medical care.
• Explain what should be done to document refusals of care against medical advice.
Objectives
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Explain the difference between slander, slander per se, and libel.
• Identify the four invasion-of-privacy torts.
Objectives
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Civil Liability
• Tort – A “civil wrong”
• Definition– Committed by one or more parties that cause
injury to another• Law allows a remedy of monetary damages
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Three Basic Types of Torts
1. Intentional2. Negligence3. Strict liability
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Battery
• Battery is an intentional unpermitted contact with another person
• Includes a broad range of acts• Does not require hostile intent• Damages are presumed plus defendant is liable for
any actual damages
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Consent
• Defense to a battery• Voluntary and knowingly given• Person must have capacity to consent– Critical consideration for emergency responders
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Battery by Medical Personnel
• Treatment provided against a person’s will• Exceeds consent granted by patient• If consent is obtained through fraud
– Doctor not licensed – Medical procedure is a sham– Without informed consent
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Informed Consent
• Patient must be informed of what the procedure involves and possible risks
• Lesser requirement in prehospital environment• Patient still must consent
– Consent can be implied from lack of refusal
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Implied Consent
• Treatment rendered to person unable to consent• Provider must have no reason to believe treatment
would be declined• Treatment necessary to save life and limb
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Assault
• Placing another in fear or apprehension of an imminent battery
• Damages are presumed
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
False Imprisonment
• Unlawfully restraining free movement of another against that person’s will
• Does not require imprisonment• Restraint must be complete• Once proven, damages are presumed and actual
damages are also allowed
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Restraint – Physical barriers– Threats of force– Assertion of legal authority
• Restraint need only be momentary• Person must be aware of restraint
False Imprisonment
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Intentional Infliction of Severe Emotional Distress
• Intentional or reckless conduct that may cause severe emotional distress to another
• Must be more than simple joking or teasing– Beyond bounds of decency
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Typically involves outrageous hazing or a continuous pattern of conduct directed at a person
• Telephone calls, hate mail, threats• Single action will suffice
Intentional Infliction of Severe Emotional Distress
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Trespass
• Intentional entry onto land of another without consent
• Trespasser is liable for any damages– Intentional, careless, or accidental fires
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• First criterion– Someone who enters the land of another without
permission• Second criterion
– Someone who enters land of another after having been warned not to
Trespass
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Trespass Examples
• Dumping rubbish on someone’s property• Flying a model airplane over someone’s house• Building a fence on a neighbor’s property
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Conversion
• Unauthorized taking of personal property• Allows civil recovery of damages for property that is
stolen, embezzled, destroyed, or damaged severely
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Misrepresentation (Fraud)
• Misrepresentation or deceit• False representation of material fact • Made with intent to induce victim to rely thereon,
resulting in damages
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Bad Faith
• New tort• Arose out of insurance contract law• Intentional failure to comply with terms of a contract
(usually insurance)
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Defamation
• Damage to another person’s reputation– False, harmful, and unprivileged statements
• Two types– Slander = oral– Libel = written
• Both require publication
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Slander
• False spoken word or gesture• Generally must prove monetary loss
– Monetary loss = special damages– Lost business, lost wages, psychiatrist bills, etc.
• Exception– “Slander per se”
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Libel
• Written or printed falsehoods• Damages are presumed
– Even in absence of actual monetary loss• At common law
– Libel was a crime
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Defenses to Defamation
• Truth– An absolute defense to defamation
• Privilege• Defamation of a public figure requires actual malice
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Invasion of Privacy
• Four distinct torts 1. Unreasonable intrusion on seclusion2. Appropriation of another’s name or likeness3. Unreasonable publicity 4. Publicity placing another in a false light
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Damages for invasions of privacy may include amounts for: – Resulting illness – Harm to victim’s business interests– Profits that the perpetrator may have recognized
from his or her misconduct
Invasion of Privacy
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Damages may be presumed for affront to person’s dignity– Similar to other intentional torts such as battery,
assault, and false imprisonment
Invasion of Privacy
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
Summary
• Definition of a tort• Battery• Assault• False imprisonment• Consent
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Intentional infliction of severe emotional distress • Trespass• Trespass to chattels• Conversion
Summary
Copyright © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning
• Fraud• Bad faith• Defamation• Invasion of privacy
Summary