Doctrines in Legal Medicine.docx

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DOCTRINE OF VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Doctrine of Imputed negligence or command responsibility) 1.1. OSTENSIBLE/APPARENT AGENCY While a person may be designated an independent contractor in relation to the person hiring them, an agency relationship may result in certain circumstances. Apparent authority results from a manifestation by the principal to a third person that another is his agent. The manifestation may be made directly to the third person or to the community at large by signs or advertising. But, "apparent authority exists only to the extent that it is reasonable for the third person dealing with the agent to believe the agent is authorized." 1.2. Borrowed Servant Doctrine A principle under which the party usually liable for a person’s actions—e.g., a hospital which has employed a particular nurse—is absolved of responsibility when that 'borrowed servant' is asked to do something—e.g., by a surgeon—which is outside of the bounds of hospital policy 1.3. Captain of the Ship Doctrine An adaptation from the 'borrowed servant rules', as applied to an operating room, which arose in McConnell v Williams,holding the person in charge–eg, a surgeon responsible for all under his supervision, regardless of whether the 'captain' is directly responsible for an alleged error or act of alleged negligence, and despite the assistants' positions as hospital employees. -

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DOCTRINE OF RES IPSA LOQUITOR (Common Knowledge Doctrine) 2.1. Doctrine of common knowledge it was intended to apply in ―situations where the carelessness of the defendant is readily apparent to anyone of average intelligence and ordinary experience.‖

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Doctrine of Contributory Negligence. a doctrine of common law that if a person was injured in part due to his/her own negligence (his/her negligence "contributed" to the accident), the injured party would not be entitled to collect any damages (money) from another party who supposedly caused the accident. Under this rule, a badly injured person who was only slightly negligent could not win in court against a very negligent defendant.

DOCTRINE OF FORESEEABILITY

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DOCTRINE OF CONTINUING NEGLIGENCE

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The responsibility of a person, who is negligent, for the wrongful conduct or negligence of another.

Contemplates of an unfailing duty of a defendant RN to appraise, make necessary investigation or examination of his patient’s injury with reasonable care and skill, failure of whom constitutes a continuing act of negligence.

FELLOW SERVANT

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If a servant is injured on account of the negligence of his servant, the master cannot be held liable.

RESCUE DOCTRINE

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Provides that a person who goes to the rescue of a victim in an accident is injured, the original wrongdoer must be held liable for such injury.

DOCTRINE OF RES IPSA LOQUITOR

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―The thing speaks for itself.‖

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E.g. objects left in a patient’s body, injury to a healthy part of the body, removal of the wrong part of the body, teeth dropped down the windpipe, burns, disability resulting from injection of drugs to the body, infection resulting from unsterilized instruments, fracture on a newly-delivered baby born by breech presentation, IM injections which resulted to leg paralysis.

GOOD SAMARITAN LAW

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A nurse who renders first aid or treatment at the scene of an emergency and who does so within the standard of care, acting in good faith, is relieved of the consequences

DOCTRINE OF FORCE MAJEURE

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No person shall be responsible for those events which cannot be foreseen and are inevitable, such as floods, fire earthquakes, and accidents.

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However habitual tardiness due to heavy traffic is not considered an excuse for force majeure.

IMPUTED NEGLIGENCE OR COMMON RESPONSIBILITIES

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It contemplates of a condition of foreseeability wherein a duty of care, skill and training to all persons who are foreseeably endangered by his conduct, with respect to the risks which make the conduct unreasonably dangerous.

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE

DOCTRINE OF RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR

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―Let the master answer for the acts of the subordinates‖.

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This applies only to actions performed by the employee within the scope of the employment.

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Private duty nurses, however, are considered independent contractors. They are liable for their own negligent actions.

Careless act or omission on the part of the complaining party which, concerning with the defendant’s negligence, is the proximate cause of injury.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK

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When one assumes voluntary risk of injury from a known danger, then he is barred from recovery; that person who asserts and was injured is not regarded injured.

LAST CLEAR CHANCE

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Implies thought, appreciation, mental direction and lapse of sufficient time to effectively act upon impulse to save the life or prevent injury to another.