Medical Malpractice Flashcards

Under the doctrine of 'respondeat superior,' a hospital may be held liable for the malpractice of a staff nurse because:

Answer: An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts of its employees committed within the scope of employment

Respondeat superior holds employers vicariously liable for employee torts committed within the scope of employment, making the hospital responsible for a staff nurse's negligence during patient care.

A 'certificate of merit' requirement in medical malpractice cases typically requires the plaintiff's attorney to:

Answer: File an affidavit from a qualified expert stating there is a reasonable basis for the malpractice claim before or shortly after filing suit

Many states require a certificate of merit — a qualified expert's affidavit confirming a reasonable basis for the claim — to screen out frivolous malpractice suits at the outset.

In medical malpractice, establishing causation requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant's negligence:

Answer: Was a substantial factor in causing the harm, and that the harm would not have occurred but for the negligence

Causation requires both actual cause (but-for the negligence the injury would not have occurred) and that the negligence was a substantial contributing factor to the harm.

Many states have enacted 'caps' on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases primarily to:

Answer: Limit recovery for pain, suffering, and emotional distress in order to control malpractice insurance costs and keep providers practicing in the state

Non-economic damage caps are enacted to reduce malpractice insurance premiums and discourage providers from leaving high-risk specialties or states with large jury verdicts.

The 'loss of chance' doctrine in medical malpractice allows recovery when:

Answer: The defendant's negligence reduced the plaintiff's statistical chance of a better outcome, even if a full recovery was never guaranteed

The loss of chance doctrine permits recovery where negligence diminished a patient's probability of survival or a better result, even if the initial prognosis was already unfavorable.

A pre-lawsuit medical review panel, required in some states, is designed primarily to:

Answer: Provide an expert preliminary evaluation of whether the malpractice claim has merit before the case proceeds

Medical review panels offer a non-binding expert assessment of a claim's merit, encouraging early settlement of valid claims and discouraging pursuit of groundless ones.

The 'collateral source rule' in medical malpractice generally provides that:

Answer: A plaintiff's damages are not reduced because the plaintiff received compensation from an independent source such as their own health insurance

Under the collateral source rule, a tortfeasor cannot reduce their liability because the victim had insurance or other independent compensation — the tortfeasor bears the full cost of their negligence.