Regulatory Compliance & Legal Framework Flashcards
7 cards from real ECC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Regulatory Compliance & Legal Framework flashcards as text
A nurse initiates CPR on a patient who later is found to have had a valid DNR order. The nurse could face liability under which legal theory?
Answer: Battery
Performing CPR against a patient's documented wishes can constitute battery because it is an intentional unconsented touching, even if well-intentioned.
Which standard of care applies when evaluating whether an EMS provider's cardiac resuscitation actions were legally appropriate?
Answer: What a reasonably competent provider at the same certification level would have done
The legal standard of care is what a reasonably competent provider at the same level of training and certification would have done under similar circumstances.
Under implied consent doctrine, EMS providers may begin resuscitation on an unconscious, unresponsive patient without expressed consent because:
Answer: The law presumes a reasonable person would consent to life-saving treatment
Implied consent holds that an unconscious person unable to give express consent is presumed to consent to emergency care that a reasonable person would want.
When a hospital fails to maintain functioning AEDs in public areas as required by state law, resulting in a patient death, the hospital may face liability for:
Answer: Negligence per se
Negligence per se occurs when a party violates a specific law or regulation designed to protect a class of persons, and that violation causes the plaintiff's injury.
A Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form differs from a standard advance directive primarily because it:
Answer: Is a physician-signed medical order actionable immediately by all providers
A POLST is an actionable medical order signed by a physician that can be followed immediately by EMS, unlike an advance directive which must be interpreted by a provider.
Which legal concept holds a hospital responsible for the negligent actions of its employed emergency physicians during a cardiac resuscitation?
Answer: Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior ('let the master answer') makes employers vicariously liable for torts committed by employees acting within the scope of their employment.
The legal doctrine of res ipsa loquitur may be applied in a cardiac emergency malpractice case when:
Answer: The negligent act is so obvious it speaks for itself without expert testimony
Res ipsa loquitur allows negligence to be inferred without expert proof when the injury could not have occurred without negligence and was under the defendant's control.