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Term | Definition |
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Abandonment [49] | Legally indicates both the intention to abandon and the external act by which the intention is carried into effect. In medicine means termination of a physician-patient relationship without reasonable and without an opportunity for the patient to acquire adequate medical care, resulting in some type of damage to the patient. |
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Answer [49] | A legal document with a defendant’s written response to a complaint or declaration in legal proceedings. |
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Affidavit [49] | Voluntary, written statement of facts made under oath before an officer of the court or before a notary public. |
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Battery [49] | In medical malpractice it is a contact of some type with a patient who has not consented to the contact. Battery may be considered either a civil or a criminal offense. |
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Complaint [49] | A legal document that is the initial pleading by the plaintiff in a civil action. |
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Common law [49] | The body of law passed down to the American colonies by the British legal system and has been interpreted and refined by case law. |
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Duty [49] | An obligation recognized by the law. A physician’s duty to a patient is to provide the degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians practicing in the same community or area of specialization. |
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Expert witness [29] | Is a witness who has expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject; it is sufficient that others may officially and legally rely upon the witness's specialized opinion about an evidence or fact occurred. |
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Hedging [44] | Is an ambiguous statement which may lead to write a vague report. |
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Insurance broker | Brokers and agents are the retailers of the insurance. They assist insureds in developing risk management strategies appropriate for their risk profile. |
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Licensing [44] | A state specialty board grants a license to an individual physician, which gives that physician the right to practice in his or her specialty field. |
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Patient autonomy [38] | A doctor should find out what patients want to know and ought to know and respect the patient’s decision. |
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Professional competency [50] | Habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served. |
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Prudent doctor [38] | The doctor weighs the risk of a certain complication occurring against the risk resulting from putting a patient off necessary treatment. |
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Prudent patient [38] | Concept recently developed in the USA that focuses on what the average “prudent patient” would want to know about potential risks and treatment options. |
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Res ipsa loquitur [49] | “The thing speaks for itself.” A case in which the personal injuries or property damage would not have occurred without negligence. This theory allows a patient to prove his or her case without the need of an expert witness to testify that the defendant violated the standard of care. |
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Timely [49] | Promptly; within a reasonable period of time, with “reasonable” being judged in terms of the particular circumstances of a case. |
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Tort law [49] | A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. |
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