Study Set Content:
One of the main topics of the substance of tort law is determining the _____(a legal phrase that means distinguishing between when conduct is or is not tortious).
"standard of care"
Put in another way, the big issue is whether a person suffers the loss from his own injury, or whether it gets
transferred to someone else.
two chief categories of torts:
intentional torts and torts resulting from negligence.
The core element in an () is an intent, or purpose, to cause harm to another.
intentional tort
The law provides that a person has intent if he or she desires to cause the consequences of his or her act, or believes that the consequences are
substantially certain to result from the act.
Currently, most litigation concerning pharmacists involves
negligence
Traditionally, physicians remain responsible for their patients and must exert
due care
that is, a physician who knows or should have known that the information provided was improper may be held liable for
negligence
Therefore, it is safe to assume that a legal cause of action pertaining to the provision of DI will be founded on the theory of negligence as the direct or proximate cause of
personal injury or death.
liability based on negligence refers to failure to exercise the degree of care that a prudent (reasonable) person would exercise under the same circumstances.
Malpractice
MALPRACTICE BASED ON NEGLIGENCE
o () treatment or culpable neglect of a patient by a physician or other practitioner
o The performance or result go () what ought to be expected from a HC practitioner.
o() to use a reasonable amount of care when such failures result in injury or damage to another
o A professional who injures a client by providing care that is () for that profession commits the tort of malpractice.
o The law requires a professional to act based on the () necessary for his or her profession, rather than the typical reasonable and prudent standard applied in general negligence cases
Injurious or unprofessional
against
Failure
below the standard
skill and knowledge
A physician who is not able to cure a patient has not committed malpractice. However, a physician who removes the wrong lung during a surgery has
committed malpractice.
To establish a negligent failure, _____ must be compared to what is considered standard professional conduct.
actual conduct
Typically, this is accomplished by introducing evidence of the relevant professional standards or testimony from expert witnesses such as
college of pharmacy faculty or other DI practitioners
Once the duty of care is established, the plaintiff would need a preponderance of evidence to prove that
the information provided was materially
deficient,
was a proximate cause of injury suffered,
the deficient information
the recipient reasonably relied on the
information provided,
the information deficiency was due to failure to exercise reasonable (),
care
the pharmacist knew or should have known that the safety or health of another may have depended on the accuracy of the
information provided.
It is important to be aware of the fact that the duty must be a legal duty not a
moral or ethical duty.
