Deck 6: The Medical Malpractice Lawsuit and the Trial Process

Question 1

If a physician and patient need a controlled, structured setting, they may wish to try which of the following?

A) Mediation
B) Negotiation
C) Arbitration
D) Communication

Answer 1

Arbitration

Question 2

Which situation does not illustrate determination of the existence of a duty that has been breached?

A) A physician mistakenly removes healthy ovaries from a 23-year-old patient.
B) A radiology technician is reprimanded more than 5 times in writing regarding his inability to perform his job accurately.
C) A physician's liability insurance has been canceled 12 times.
D) A nurse verifies drug allergies before performing an injection.

Answer 2

A nurse verifies drug allergies before performing an injection.

Question 3

What are the four elements needed in a negligence case?

A) Consent, dereliction of duty, direct cause, damages
B) Denial, direct cause, liability, damages
C) Duty, dereliction of duty, direct cause, damages
D) Duty, direct cause, liability, damages

Answer 3

Duty, dereliction of duty, direct cause, damages

Question 4

Which is an individual's responsibility for his or her conduct for failure to meet a standard of care?

A) Liability
B) Sentinel
C) Professionalism
D) Carelessness

Question 5

What term is used to describe the amount of time a plaintiff has after an injury to file a lawsuit?

A) Statute of limitations
B) Discovery rule
C) Release of tortfeasor
D) Respondeat superior

Question 6

What is the term for failure to use or not use the same care as used by a reasonably prudent person?

A) Negligence
B) Malpractice
C) Abuse
D) Battery

Question 7

Which is a patient's compensation for injuries that he or she has sustained?

A) Medical
B) Emotional
C) Financial
D) None of the options

Question 8

"The thing speaks for itself" is called

A) res ipsa loquitur.
B) respondeat superior.
C) res judicata.
D) duces tecum.

Question 9

Allied health professionals can avoid negligence by conducting themselves in which way when providing patient services?

A) Competently
B) Reasonably
C) Negligently
D) Under a standard of care

Question 10

In this type of defense, the medical record plays the largest part of the defense.

A) Affirmative
B) Emergency care
C) Assumption of risk
D) Good Samaritan

Question 11

Which of the following methods can be used to resolve conflicts?

A) Negotiation
B) Mediation
C) Arbitration
D) All of the options

Question 12

The process by which a neutral third party facilitates dispute resolution is called

A) mediation.
B) negotiation.
C) arbitration.
D) communication.

Question 13

An individual's responsibility for his or her conduct for failure to meet a standard of care is called

A) strict liability.
B) product liability.
C) liability.
D) straight liability.

Question 14

A defendant does not want to go through a trial, and wants the issue at hand dealt with expediently. He may use

A) a release of tortfeasor.
B) alternative dispute resolution.
C) the discovery rule.
D) All of the options

Question 15

Damages for financial losses based on actual income and expenses are called

A) punitive.
B) nominal.
C) compensatory.
D) None of the options

Question 16

"Let the master answer" in Latin is

A) res ipsa loquitur.
B) respondeat superior.
C) res judicata.
D) duces tecum.

Question 17

This type of defense is a denial of negligence.

A) Technical
B) Affirmative
C) Emergency care
D) Good Samaritan

Question 18

Which of the following nurses might be guilty of negligence?

A) The nurse explains a procedure to a patient using a patient information sheet as a prompt.
B) The nurse draws blood from the patient for lab tests to be performed that day, though no one told her directly to do so.
C) The nurse eats an orange while talking with a patient in the reception area.
D) The nurse moves a patient in a wheelchair at a high speed and does not use wheel brakes during stops.

Question 19

When the defendant shows that the plaintiff's actions or inaction was a contributing factor in the damages, this is considered

A) ordinary negligence.
B) negligence.
C) comparative negligence.
D) straight negligence.

Question 20

Awards that are intended to punish are considered

A) compensatory.
B) punitive.
C) nominal.
D) None of the options

Question 21

Whose primary duty is to help protect a physician from liability?

A) Physician assistant
B) Risk management supervisor
C) Registered nurse
D) Another physician

Question 22

To help prevent malpractice, a healthcare provider should

A) work within their scope of practice.
B) make promises to cure a patient.
C) treat patients as if they were friends.
D) with permission from a superior, work outside their job description.

Question 23

Physicians can reduce their liability risks by

A) obtaining adequate diagnostic results before beginning treatment.
B) double-checking dosage and medication for a patient.
C) having an assistant present during examination.
D) following all of the options.

Question 24

Establishing and putting into place the forms required for patient encounters, including informed consent, and for billing is the __________'s job.

A) head nurse
B) physician
C) medical assistant
D) risk management supervisor

Question 25

The risk management supervisor is responsible for

A) talking to unruly patients.
B) talking to new employees about their dress code violations.
C) overseeing all written communication for patients.
D) documenting employees' time records.