Law in Allied Health - Medical Malpractice
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Litigious - CORRECT ANSWER - Sue happy
What has prompted patient to become more litigious - CORRECT ANSWER - Greedy
trial attorneys and juries that award excessive verdicts
Defensive medicine - CORRECT ANSWER - Medical responses that are motivated by a
desire to avoid potential liability claims more than by the needs of the patient, Many physicians
use this to attempt to protect themselves from Malpractice lawsuits
Defensive medicine - CORRECT ANSWER - Can sometimes mean overly cautious
doctors use an excessive number of medical tests which may result in additional tests and
procedures that the doctor wouldn't ordinarily have used
What is a negative effect of malpractice claims - CORRECT ANSWER - Some doctors
shy away from difficult cases or may refuse to treat certain classes of patients - primarily
obstetric an orthopedic cases
Negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - A failure to exercise the degree of care that a
reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
Reasonable person - CORRECT ANSWER - A prudent individual whose behavior would
be considered appropriate under the circumstances
What are the elements of a negligence claim - CORRECT ANSWER - That a duty is
breached, which proximately causes damage - that is, the damage is a direct result of the breach
Professional negligence is known as - CORRECT ANSWER - Malpractice
, What is the difference between ordinary negligence and malpractice - CORRECT
ANSWER - The standard of care required of the injuring party
From what time. Does the professional standard of care apply - CORRECT ANSWER -
From the time the physician - patient relationship begins until it ends
Expert witnesses - CORRECT ANSWER - People who have skills, experience, training, or
education in a specialized field that ordinary people don't have
Other than physicians who else are held to a professional standard of care - CORRECT
ANSWER - Nurses, physician assistants, and medical assistants
Res ipsa loquitur (Latin meaning) - CORRECT ANSWER - The thing speaks for itself, If
the injury or damage wouldn't ordinarily have occurred if reasonable care had been exercised,
and if the defendant had exclusive control over the cause of the injury, the burden of proof shifts
from the plaintiff to the defendant
Burden of proof - CORRECT ANSWER - The duty to prove an element of a claim or
defense in a lawsuit
Who usually has the burden of proving negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - The plaintiff
What are the elements of a negligence action - CORRECT ANSWER - Duty is breached,
proximate causation, and damages
In only what way does malpractice differ from negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - In the
specialized duty that a doctor owes
UPDATED ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Litigious - CORRECT ANSWER - Sue happy
What has prompted patient to become more litigious - CORRECT ANSWER - Greedy
trial attorneys and juries that award excessive verdicts
Defensive medicine - CORRECT ANSWER - Medical responses that are motivated by a
desire to avoid potential liability claims more than by the needs of the patient, Many physicians
use this to attempt to protect themselves from Malpractice lawsuits
Defensive medicine - CORRECT ANSWER - Can sometimes mean overly cautious
doctors use an excessive number of medical tests which may result in additional tests and
procedures that the doctor wouldn't ordinarily have used
What is a negative effect of malpractice claims - CORRECT ANSWER - Some doctors
shy away from difficult cases or may refuse to treat certain classes of patients - primarily
obstetric an orthopedic cases
Negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - A failure to exercise the degree of care that a
reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
Reasonable person - CORRECT ANSWER - A prudent individual whose behavior would
be considered appropriate under the circumstances
What are the elements of a negligence claim - CORRECT ANSWER - That a duty is
breached, which proximately causes damage - that is, the damage is a direct result of the breach
Professional negligence is known as - CORRECT ANSWER - Malpractice
, What is the difference between ordinary negligence and malpractice - CORRECT
ANSWER - The standard of care required of the injuring party
From what time. Does the professional standard of care apply - CORRECT ANSWER -
From the time the physician - patient relationship begins until it ends
Expert witnesses - CORRECT ANSWER - People who have skills, experience, training, or
education in a specialized field that ordinary people don't have
Other than physicians who else are held to a professional standard of care - CORRECT
ANSWER - Nurses, physician assistants, and medical assistants
Res ipsa loquitur (Latin meaning) - CORRECT ANSWER - The thing speaks for itself, If
the injury or damage wouldn't ordinarily have occurred if reasonable care had been exercised,
and if the defendant had exclusive control over the cause of the injury, the burden of proof shifts
from the plaintiff to the defendant
Burden of proof - CORRECT ANSWER - The duty to prove an element of a claim or
defense in a lawsuit
Who usually has the burden of proving negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - The plaintiff
What are the elements of a negligence action - CORRECT ANSWER - Duty is breached,
proximate causation, and damages
In only what way does malpractice differ from negligence - CORRECT ANSWER - In the
specialized duty that a doctor owes
