This required the perpetrator to have the means or ability to carry out his threat, making the victim's fear valid, and no actual physical contact was required. I QUESTION ONE. A. HIPAA does not apply to reporting the suspected neglect or abuse of children, adults at risk, or older adults. Those who are committing the abuse may target patients who have difficulty talking, have few visitors, or who suffer from dementia or impaired memory. There are several steps a nurse can follow to handle suspected cases of abuse. The standard of practice is to adhere to agency policy. Lol. Define "battery" as: unlawful touching, beating, wounding or laying hold of another's person or clothing without his/her consent. Willful and intentional means that the act was done knowingly and on purpose. Under the law of trespass, patients have a right not be subjected to an invasive procedure without consent or other lawful justification, such as an emergency or necessity. Our flashcards are the best you can buy. Section 25A (1) creates an offence of assault causing death. When you see this Cool Chicken, that indicates one of Cathy's silly mnemonics to help you remember. While this type of abuse is physical in nature, the psychological scars that it leaves on patients can be equally detrimental. LEGAL REPRESENTATION IS NOT OFFERED OR AVAILABLE IN TENNESSEE. For example, when applying HIPAA to mental health inpatient settings, nurses may not answer in the affirmative if someone calls and asks if an individual has been admitted to the unit. and compare those stories. July 12, 2021 Assault and battery are two separate legal offenses that occur between two people. Assault, Battery, and False Imprisonment (e.g., inappropriately restraining a patient physically or chemically) are all Intentional Torts. Brous, E. (2019). There are two kinds of defamation of character that you need to know about when you're studying torts in nursing; slander and libel. If it was, please go ahead and like the video. Saunders Company, 114-115, 127-128. That is always my first priority, is keeping my patient safe. These include: Intent to kill Battery is covered as a part of a broader overview on intentional torts in ourFundamentals of Nursing Flashcardsto help you learn and retain the key Fundamentals information you need for the ATI, HESI, and NCLEX. Fry, S. T. (1989). Also, Australian law prescribes various charges for the act of assault. Marge is a nursing assistant working in a nursing home, caring for elderly and disabled people. Maintain professional boundaries. If a patient refuses treatment and there is no threat to his life or well-being, do not force treatment, notify those who need to be notified, and document the refusal and the notifications; Never threaten a patient or a family member in any way or act in a menacing manner toward the patient or family member; Never hold a patient down to force treatment or administer a medication; Never threaten to hit a patient or family member or actually do so; and. Malpractice lawsuits are concerned with the legal obligations nurses have to their patients to adhere to current standards of practice. Emotional injuries can include psychological damage, emotional distress, or other forms of mental suffering. ABH and GBH (grievous bodily harm) are terms used . However, words not accompanied by some bodily act or gesture indicating an intention to assault would not be held as assault. The Security Rule sets national standards for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronically protected health information. Battery convictions are typically misdemeanors but can be felonies if serious bodily harm occurs. Slapping. Without the other person's consent. March 20, 2015. Hi. So let's kind of lay it out in a way that we can understand. As nurses we are mandatory reporters, which means that by law, there are specific instances we are required to report. 2023 CPH & ASSOCIATES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. It can be very difficult to prevent or stop abuse in situations when the victim feels afraid or secluded and does not report what is happening to supervisors or their family. Medical battery is precisely this, but in a medical setting, where a doctor or medical professional causes a harmful or offensive touching to their patients. Relies on implied consent as an agreement . Nurse strikes the patient and throws him onto the bed causing the patient to sustain a fracture of his hand. I'm Meris and today we're going to be talking about unintentional torts, intentional torts, and mandatory reporting for nurses. ; Both assault and battery are typically charged as a misdemeanor offense (as opposed to an . STAY CONNECTED TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@leveluprnInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/leveluprn/ Facebook: https://fb.me/LevelUpRN Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/leveluprn/ Unintentional torts can result from acts of commission (i.e., doing something a reasonable nurse would not have done) or omission (i.e., failing to do something a reasonable nurse would do). If a nursing home staff member refuses to leave you alone with the patient that is another sign that your loved one might be being abused. Restraints can be physical, chemical, or verbal. The process can take months or years to resolve, and it can be costly to hire legal representation.[27]. Medical malpractice trials take place primarily in state courts, so experts are deemed qualified based on state requirements. This is an important tort to understand in the context of restraints, which we will cover later on in this Fundamentals series and in our Fundamentals of Nursing Flashcards. Battery: Remember A before B! Battery, though also considered a violent crime, is a different type of offense. Negligence and malpractice are unintentional torts. In our Psychiatric Mental Health series, we cover signs of abuse. Assault and Battery. Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This is another example of nurses being held to a higher standard because of their job and licensingif a random person suspects abuse, they are not legally required by any laws or regulations to report it, but nurses are. Well, I need to interview the suspected abuser and the patient separately, so this way if it's a parent and a child, right, I can ask the child about, so how did you break your arm? Assault and battery are related but distinct crimes. If charged with battery in the UK, it would appear as 'assault by . Mandatory reporting and duty to warn and protect are additional examples of a nurses duty. Battery is defined as intentional causation of harmful or offensive contact with another person without that persons consent. Examples of intentional torts include assault, battery, false imprisonment, slander, libel, and breach of privacy or client confidentiality. An example of possible false imprisonment in health care is the use of restraints. Battery. I need to document that. Brent, Nancy J. For nurses specifically, negligence, as defined by the American Journal of Nursing, most often shows up in one of six ways: Failure to Follow Standards of Care. If a nursing home attendant surprises the patient and pushes the patient from behind, that would qualify as battery. forces you against your will to commit an act of gross indecencya sexual act that does not involve penetration, for example a person forces you to touch their genitals. And assault is not what you think it is based on popular culture and TV. There are specific circumstances in which HIPAA does not apply. Find resources in your area for reporting suspected child abuse at ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline or elder abuse at the National Adult Protective Services Association website. Battery requires that one person actually inflicts harmful or offensive contact on another person. A nursing license is a contract between the state and the nurse in which the licensee agrees to provide nursing care according to that states Nurse Practice Act. For an assault to be legally sufficient, the person who is fearful or anxious about a contact must be aware of the possibility of the harmful or offensive contact. Criminal Assault & Battery. A person bringing the lawsuit is called the plaintiff, and the parties named in the lawsuit are called defendants. And then I ask the parent, so how did your son break his arm? It's important to you [], It is important to keep in mind that when a patient injury or death occurs due to a nurses professional negligence, it is not uncommon []. Unlike assault, you dont have to warn the victim or make him fearful before you hurt themfor it to count as battery. Comments will be approved before showing up. Battery is the intentional act of causing physical harm to someone. Battery: Remember A before B! The nature of the offence, the circumstances in which it occurred and the type of injury sustained will determine the charge that is laid. Okay, last, on card 11 we are talking about mandatory reporting. If your patient is experiencing abuse, they need to know what to do the next time this happens, or when they are ready to leave. Obtained their consent by fraud. These legal obligations are referred to as the duty of reasonable care. Rights, responsibilities, and legal relationships between private citizens and involves compensation to the injured party. This includes unwarranted touching . FindLaw's section on Assault, Battery and Intentional Torts provides information about the various acts that are considered intentional . This includes assault vs. battery, slander vs. libel, and false imprisonment. Now negligence is where there was a failure to provide care that a reasonably prudent person would have, meaning someone of sound mind and good reasoning capabilities would have done something. Psychiatric Mental Health - Nursing Flashcards, Psychiatric Mental Health - Nursing Flashcards After the plaintiff has established that the nurse owed a duty to a patient and then breached that duty, they must then demonstrate that damages or harm were caused by that breach. So for instance if I am the nurse on duty for a patient and I just decide I'm going home, and I don't care over to anybody else, that's abandonment. The Atlanta sexual assault victim lawyers at Wetherington Law Firm can explain your legal rights in a consultation and help you know the best path to take to hold your assailant accountable. Torts can be categorized as intentional or unintentional. An assault is when a person commits an act that puts a victim in reasonable apprehension of harmful or offensive contact. Criminal intent: The perpetrator has no relationship with the victim, and the violence is carried out in conjunction with a crime. Going back to our example . For example, a nurse may need to separate a patient from their suspected abuser or get security involved. A nurse may be charged with fraud for documenting interventions not performed or for altering documentation to cover up an error. The Meyer Law Firm, P.C. Failure to Use Equipment in a Responsible Manner. 18.2-57. For example, nurses have a duty to warn and protect, are mandated reporters of suspected abuse or neglect, and are required to share specific information reported by minors with authorities or their parents. This information on reporting suspicion of abuse is for your nursing exams and nursing practice. Assault is a punishable offence where a person can get jail for up to 60 days and a fine of $ 500, whereas battery is also a punishable offence where a person can get jail for up to 1 year and a fine of $ 1000. (3). Anyone, including nurses, can be liable for negligence. 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