Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Settlement of civil disputes between parties using neutral mediators or arbitrators without going to court
Confidentiality
The act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals
Damages
Monetary awards sought by plaintiffs in lawsuits
Deposition
Sworn testimony given and recorded outside the courtroom during the pretrial phase of a case
Duty of care
The legal obligation of health care workers to patients and, sometimes, non-patients
Interrogatory
A written set of questions requiring written answers from a plaintiff or defendant under oath
Liable
Legally responsible or obligated
Malfeasance
The performance of a totally wrongful and unlawful act
Misfeasance
The performance of a lawful act in an illegal or improper manner
Nonfeasance
The failure to act when one should
Privileged communication
Information held confidential within a protected relationship
Reasonable person standard
That standard of behavior that judges a person's actions in a situation according to what a reasonable person would or would not do under similar circumstances
Res ipsa loquitur
The thing speaks for itself"; also known as the doctrine of common knowledge. A situation that is so obviously negligent that no expert witnesses need be called
Standard of care
The level of performance expected of a health care practitioner in carrying out his or her professional duties
Subpoena
A legal document requiring the recipient to appear as a witness in court or to give a deposition
Subpoena duces tecum
A legal document requiring the recipient to bring certain written records to court to be used as evidence in a lawsuit
Summons
A written notification issued by the clerk of the court and delivered with a copy of the complaint to the defendant in a lawsuit, directing him or her to respond to the charges brought in a court of law
Testimony
Statements sworn to under oath by witnesses testifying in court and giving depositions
Wrongful death statutes
State statutes that allow a person's beneficiaries to collect for loss to the estate of the deceased for future earning when a death is judged to have been due to negligence