Can a patient successfully sue a doctor if there is no physician-patient relationship? -
ANSWER No
If there is no prior physician-patient relationship, are you legally obliged to respond to a
call from a patient for treatment? - ANSWER No
Does being on call give rise to a physician-patient relationship? - ANSWER No
How can one terminate a physician-patient relationship, without abandonment if there is
ongoing treatment? - ANSWER 30 days written notice; must provide for emergency
,Does a physician's duty extend to the unborn child or potential victims of an ill patient? -
ANSWER Yes
What is "proximate cause"? - ANSWER Prove that negligence caused harm and that the
cause was not too remote; what is required to hold a defendant liable in a civil lawsuit
What are the two components of proximate cause? - ANSWER Cause-in-fact (but-for test)
and foreseeability
Does an expert witness have to be actively practicing medicine? - ANSWER Yes
Does an expert witness have to know standards of care? - ANSWER Yes
, Does an expert witness have to have enough training to express an opinion on whether
standard of care was provided? - ANSWER Yes
Does an expert witness have to be board certified? - ANSWER No, board certified or
eqivalent
In a medical malpractice case, are expert witnesses required? - ANSWER Yes, with two
exceptions
In a medical malpractice setting, what 2 instances do not need expert testimony? -
ANSWER Res ipsa loquitur (e.g., amputation of wrong leg) and negligence per se (a law
was broken)
What are "exemplary damages"? - ANSWER Damages above compensatory designed to
punish the defendant and deter the behavior
Is there a cap to noneconomic damages? How much? - ANSWER $250,000 for physicians,
$500,000 for hospitals
Does the cap on noneconomic damage depend on the number of defendants or claimants?
- ANSWER No
What is "proportional responsibility"? - ANSWER Percentage of liability apportioned
according to percentage of fault
Can the claimant have part of the proportional responsibility? - ANSWER Yes
, If bthe bclaimant's bproportionate bresponsibility bis bmore bthan bwhat b%, bhe/she bmay bnot
brecover bdamages? b- bANSWER bIf b> b50%, bno bdamages bawarded
How blong bis bthe bstatute bof blimitations bfor badults? bFor bminors? b- bANSWER b2 byears; bfor
bminors b2 byears bafter bbecoming b18 byears bof bage
By bhow bmuch bcan bthe bstatute bof blimitations bbe bextended band bhow? b- bANSWER bFile
bcomplaint—extra b60-day, bnotice bletter bextends bstatute bby b75 bdays
What bis bthe bstatute bof blimitations bfor bwrongful bdeath? b- bANSWER b2 byears
What bis bthe bdiscovery brule? bGive bexamples. b- bANSWER bStatute bdoes bnot bbegin buntil
bdamage bis bdiscovered. bFor bexample, ba bretained bsponge bthat bis bfound b3 byears bpost-op
Is bthere bimmunity bfrom bcivil baction bin bemergency bcases? b- bANSWER bYes, bexcept bgross
bnegligence
Is bthere bimmunity bfrom bcivil baction bin bvolunteer bcare? b- bANSWER bYes, bexcept bgross
bnegligence
When bcan ba bphysician bbe bcharged bwith b"assault band bbattery"? b- bANSWER bUn-consented
bsurgery bor bexamination bor bwhen bexceeding bthe bscope bof bthe bconsent
When bcan ba bphysician bbe bcharged bwith bpatient babandonment? b- bANSWER bUnilateral
bcessation bof btreatment bwhen bcontinued btreatment bis bnecessary
What bis b"strict bliability"? b- bANSWER bLiability bthat bdoes bnot bdepend bon bactual bnegligence,
bbut bthat bis bbased bon ba bbreach bof ba bduty bto bmake bsomething bsafe. bThis boften bapplies bto
ANSWER No
If there is no prior physician-patient relationship, are you legally obliged to respond to a
call from a patient for treatment? - ANSWER No
Does being on call give rise to a physician-patient relationship? - ANSWER No
How can one terminate a physician-patient relationship, without abandonment if there is
ongoing treatment? - ANSWER 30 days written notice; must provide for emergency
,Does a physician's duty extend to the unborn child or potential victims of an ill patient? -
ANSWER Yes
What is "proximate cause"? - ANSWER Prove that negligence caused harm and that the
cause was not too remote; what is required to hold a defendant liable in a civil lawsuit
What are the two components of proximate cause? - ANSWER Cause-in-fact (but-for test)
and foreseeability
Does an expert witness have to be actively practicing medicine? - ANSWER Yes
Does an expert witness have to know standards of care? - ANSWER Yes
, Does an expert witness have to have enough training to express an opinion on whether
standard of care was provided? - ANSWER Yes
Does an expert witness have to be board certified? - ANSWER No, board certified or
eqivalent
In a medical malpractice case, are expert witnesses required? - ANSWER Yes, with two
exceptions
In a medical malpractice setting, what 2 instances do not need expert testimony? -
ANSWER Res ipsa loquitur (e.g., amputation of wrong leg) and negligence per se (a law
was broken)
What are "exemplary damages"? - ANSWER Damages above compensatory designed to
punish the defendant and deter the behavior
Is there a cap to noneconomic damages? How much? - ANSWER $250,000 for physicians,
$500,000 for hospitals
Does the cap on noneconomic damage depend on the number of defendants or claimants?
- ANSWER No
What is "proportional responsibility"? - ANSWER Percentage of liability apportioned
according to percentage of fault
Can the claimant have part of the proportional responsibility? - ANSWER Yes
, If bthe bclaimant's bproportionate bresponsibility bis bmore bthan bwhat b%, bhe/she bmay bnot
brecover bdamages? b- bANSWER bIf b> b50%, bno bdamages bawarded
How blong bis bthe bstatute bof blimitations bfor badults? bFor bminors? b- bANSWER b2 byears; bfor
bminors b2 byears bafter bbecoming b18 byears bof bage
By bhow bmuch bcan bthe bstatute bof blimitations bbe bextended band bhow? b- bANSWER bFile
bcomplaint—extra b60-day, bnotice bletter bextends bstatute bby b75 bdays
What bis bthe bstatute bof blimitations bfor bwrongful bdeath? b- bANSWER b2 byears
What bis bthe bdiscovery brule? bGive bexamples. b- bANSWER bStatute bdoes bnot bbegin buntil
bdamage bis bdiscovered. bFor bexample, ba bretained bsponge bthat bis bfound b3 byears bpost-op
Is bthere bimmunity bfrom bcivil baction bin bemergency bcases? b- bANSWER bYes, bexcept bgross
bnegligence
Is bthere bimmunity bfrom bcivil baction bin bvolunteer bcare? b- bANSWER bYes, bexcept bgross
bnegligence
When bcan ba bphysician bbe bcharged bwith b"assault band bbattery"? b- bANSWER bUn-consented
bsurgery bor bexamination bor bwhen bexceeding bthe bscope bof bthe bconsent
When bcan ba bphysician bbe bcharged bwith bpatient babandonment? b- bANSWER bUnilateral
bcessation bof btreatment bwhen bcontinued btreatment bis bnecessary
What bis b"strict bliability"? b- bANSWER bLiability bthat bdoes bnot bdepend bon bactual bnegligence,
bbut bthat bis bbased bon ba bbreach bof ba bduty bto bmake bsomething bsafe. bThis boften bapplies bto
