Document Detail


Legal doctrines associated with medical malpractice.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  10314631     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Malpractice is the legal charge against a professional accused of a private wrong. Claims must be filed under tort (or civil) law; specific statutes can vary from state to state. Legal doctrines associated with malpractice include respondeat superior, which places ultimate liability with a superior or employer; proximate cause, which states that the professional's negligence resulted in injury; and res ipsa loquitur, which allows malpractice to be proved without expert testimony. Traditionally, PAs have been protected by respondeat superior; however, while some legal precedents have assigned liability to the physician entirely, others have distributed it proportionately between the supervised nonphysician provider and the physician. Consequently, no clear guidelines exist for PAs regarding malpractice, since the degree of liability has not yet been definitely decided by the courts. However, in the current legal climate, more and more PAs assume malpractice liability, and are providing for personal coverage.
Authors:
J Kircher
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Physician assistant (American Academy of Physician Assistants)     Volume:  10     ISSN:  8750-7544     ISO Abbreviation:  Physician Assist     Publication Date:  1986 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1986-09-30     Completed Date:  1986-09-30     Revised Date:  2000-12-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8403486     Medline TA:  Physician Assist     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  52-7     Citation Subset:  H    
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Malpractice / legislation & jurisprudence*
Physician Assistants / legislation & jurisprudence*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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