Medical Malpractice Flashcards

In birth-injury malpractice, a 'wrongful birth' claim differs from a 'wrongful life' claim in that:

Answer: Wrongful birth is a parental claim for costs arising from being denied the chance to avoid or terminate a pregnancy, while wrongful life is the child's claim that non-existence would have been preferable

Wrongful birth is the parents' claim (they were denied an informed reproductive decision); wrongful life is the child's claim that non-existence would have been better, which most states decline to recognize.

The 'borrowed servant' doctrine in hospital malpractice may apply when:

Answer: A hospital employee is placed under the direction and control of an independent physician during a procedure, potentially shifting liability to that physician

Under the borrowed servant doctrine, when a hospital employee operates under the direct control of an independent physician during surgery, liability for that employee's negligence may shift to the controlling physician.

The doctrine of 'ostensible agency' (apparent agency) may make a hospital liable for an independent contractor physician's malpractice when:

Answer: The patient reasonably believed the physician was the hospital's employee based on the hospital's representations or overall conduct

Apparent agency holds a hospital liable when the patient reasonably relied on the hospital's holding out of a physician as its employee, even if the doctor is actually an independent contractor.

Which of the following best describes 'wrong-site surgery' in the context of surgical malpractice?

Answer: Performing an operation on the wrong body part, the wrong patient, or the wrong procedure entirely

Wrong-site surgery — operating on the wrong patient, wrong body part, or performing the wrong procedure — is classified as a 'never event' because it is entirely preventable with proper verification protocols.

When a patient is harmed by a medication error, which parties may potentially be liable for malpractice?

Answer: Potentially the prescribing physician, dispensing pharmacist, or administering nurse, depending on where in the process the error occurred

Medication errors can arise at prescription (wrong drug/dose ordered), dispensing (wrong drug/dose filled), or administration (wrong drug/route given), so liability depends on where in the chain the error was introduced.

Establishing 'proximate cause' in a medical malpractice case means the plaintiff must show that the defendant's breach:

Answer: Produced a foreseeable type of harm that was not interrupted by an independent intervening cause breaking the causal chain

Proximate cause requires that the plaintiff's harm was a foreseeable consequence of the negligence and was not severed by an independent superseding cause that breaks the legal connection.

In a state applying 'pure comparative fault' to medical malpractice, a plaintiff found 20% at fault for their own injuries would:

Answer: Have their total damages award reduced by 20%, recovering the remaining 80% from the defendant

Under pure comparative fault, the plaintiff's award is reduced proportionally by their share of fault — a 20% fault allocation results in a 20% reduction of the total damages recovered.