TEXAS A&M/TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE

STUDENT POST MOCK TRIAL ASSIGNMENT

1. Can a nurse can be involved in each of the following types of legal proceedings? (answer YES or
NO to each of the following)
a. ____    As a witness in a civil lawsuit; 
b. ____    As a defendant in a medical malpractice civil lawsuit;
c. ____    As a defendant in a criminal case; and
d. ____    In a State Board of Nursing action.

2. Describe the difference between a civil lawsuit and a criminal lawsuit? (Hint: Which one involves
a branch of government alleging that a person or company violated a criminal statute and which
one involves a dispute between two or more persons or entities usually seeking compensation
for an injury or business dispute?)
What type of lawsuit was the Mock Trial?

3. Explain the following terms and relate them to the Mock Trail:
a. Plaintiff (in a civil lawsuit); 
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b. Defendant (in a civil lawsuit);
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c. Plaintiff (in a civil lawsuit); 
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d. Plaintiff (in a civil lawsuit); 
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e. Duty;
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f. Negligence;
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g. Causation; and
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h. Damages.
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4. In a civil medical malpractice lawsuit, a judge or jury is asked to decide whether a health care
provider violated the standard of care and was negligent. What types of evidence can be
presented to help the judge or jury decide what the standard of care was for the treatment
involved in the case?
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5. Describe chain of command in a health care setting. Discuss the chain of command as relates
to the Mock Trial case.
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6. A friend of yours has never been to nursing school and has never been licensed as a nurse. Your
friend is employed at a physician’s office. She asks you if she should tell patients that she is a
“nurse.”  She thinks this is ok because she does not tell patients that she is a “registered nurse
or RN.”  What should you tell her?  (See  Texas Occupations Code 301.251(d) at
https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._occ._code_section_301.251).
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7. Set forth an advantage a nurse who obtained his/her own policy of professional liability
insurance may have over a nurse who decided she/he did not need to purchase his/her own
insurance because the hospital where he/she is employed already has liability insurance
coverage for nurse employees?
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8. What will you do differently in your practice as a nurse based on the Mock Trial case?

9. How was this Mock Trial helpful to your understanding of the legal aspects of nursing? Please
provide suggestions to improve this program.
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