Civil law and Legal Liabilities

in
Nursing Practice
By Junina Chantal G. Irlandez, RN
 Civil Law VS Criminal Law
 Civil law and Criminal law are two broad and separate
entities of law with separate sets of laws and punishments.

CIVIL LAW
Deals with disputes between individuals, groups and
organizations who seek an award of compensation for their
troubles.

CRIMINAL LAW
Is a set of rules and regulations that describe behaviors that
are prohibited by the govewrnment.
 EXAMPLES
 Civil Law
-Negligence
-Malpractice
 Criminal Law

-Assault
-Battery
-and cases of Murder
Negligence
 Definition

 It refers to the commission or omission of an

act, pursuant to a duty, that a reasonably
prudent person in the same or similar
circumstances would or would not do, and
acting or the non-acting of which is the
proximate cause of injury to another person or
his property.
 Civil Code, Article 19

 One shall act with justice, give every man his

due, observe honesty and good faith.
 Civil Code, Article 20

 Those who, in the performance of their

obligations through negligence cause any
injury to another, are liable for damages.
 Common Acts of Negligence

 Objects left inside the patient’s body

 Falls of elderly
 Falls of children
 Failure to observe and take appropriate action
as needed
 Burns
 Specific Examples

 Failure to report observations to attending

physicians
 Failure to exercise the degree of diligence
which the circumstances of the particular case
demands
 Mistaken identity
 Wrong medicine, wrong concentration, wrong
route, wrong dose
 Conditions for Res ipsa loquitor (Latin, The
thing itself speaks)

 That the injury was of such nature that it would

normally occur unless there was a negligent act
on the part of someone
 That the injury was caused by an agency within
control of the defendant
 That the plaintiff himself did not engage in any
manner that would tend to bring about the injury
Malpractice
 Definition

 Implies the idea of improper or unskillful care

of a patient by a nurse
 Is a term for negligence or carelessness of
professional personnel
 Refers to a negligent act committed in the
course of professional performance (1962)
MEDICAL ORDERS,DRUGS,and
medications.
 RA 6675

 Only validly registered medical,

dental and veterinary
practitioners, whether in private
institution, corporation or in the
government, are authorized to
prescribed drugs.
 RA 5921 (PHARMACY ACT)
 All prescriptions must contain the following
information:
› Name of the prescriber
› Office address
› professional registration number
› Professional tax receipt number
› Patient’s/client’s name, age , sex
› Date of prescription.
 RA 6675
 Requires that the drug be written in their generic
names.

› Only when these orders are legal writing and bear the
doctor’s signature thus the nurse have the legal right
to follow them
› The nurse must not execute an order if she is
reasonably certain it will result in harm to the patient.
 INTRAVENOUS THERAPY AND
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 Philippine nursing act of 1991 section 28

› “ in the administration of intravenous injections,
special training shall be required according to protocol
established”.
› Basis of nurses legal right to give IV injection.
Board of nursing resolution no. 8 states that any
registered nurse without such training and who
administers IV injections to patients should be held
liable, either criminally or administratively or both.
 TELEPHONE ORDERS
 Only in an extreme emergency and when no
other resident or intern is available should a nurse
receive telephone orders.
 The nurse should read back such order to the
physician to make certain the order has been
correctly written.
 Such order should be sign by the physician on his
next visit within 24 hours.
 MEDICAL RECORDS
 Supplies rich material for medical and nursing
research
 Serves as a legal protection for the hospital,
doctor, and nurse by reflecting the disease or
condition of the patient and his management.
 “if it was not charted, it was not observed or
done”.
 Nurses are expected to record fully, accurately,
legibly and promptly their observations from
admission to the time of the patient’s discharge.
 Nurses are legally and ethically bound to protect
the patient’s chart from unauthorized person.
 CHARTING DONE BY STUDENT
NURSES

 When a nurse or clinical instructor counter signs

the charting of the nursing student, he/she has
personal knowledge of information and that such
is accurate and authentic.
 Anyone who countersigns without verification
commits herself to possible legal risks.
 Liabilities of nurses for the work of
nursing aides

 Nurses should not delegate their functions to nursing

aides since the Philippine nursing act specifies the
scope of nursing practice of professional nurses.
 Nurses are enjoined to supervise their subordinates
and see to it that they perform only those which they
been taught to do and those which they are capable
of doing.
 Nursing aids are responsible for their
actions.

 Nurses should not delegate their

functions to nursing aides.
 Nursing aides perform selected nursing
activities under the direct supervision
of nurses.
 LIABILITY FOR THE WORK OF
NURSING STUDENTS

 RA 9173 – nursing students do not perform

professional nursing duties.
 Nursing students should be under supervision of
their clinical instructors.
 In order that the errors committed by nursing
students will be avoided or minimized, the
following measures should be taken:
› Nursing students should always be under supervision
of their clinical instructors.
› They should be given assignments that are
their level of training experience and
competency.
› They should be advised to seek guidance if
they are performing a procedure for the first
time.
› They should be oriented to the policies
where they are assigned.
› Their performance should be assessed
frequently to determine their strength and
weaknesses.
 Points in order to avoid administrative, civil
and criminal liability:

1. Be very familiar with the Philippine nursing law.

2. Beware of laws that affecting nursing practice
3. At the start of employment, get a copy of your
job description, the agency’s rules, regulations
and policies.
4. Upgrade you skills and competence
5. Accept only such responsibility that is within
the scope of your employment and your job
description.
6. Do not delegate your responsibilities to others.
7. Determine whether your subordinates are
competent in the work you are assigning them.
8. Develop good interpersonal relationships with
your co-workers, whether they be your
supervisors, peers or subordinates.
9. Consult your superior for problems that
maybe too big for you to handle.
10. Verify orders that are not clear to you or
those that seem to be erroneous.
11. The doctors should be informed about the
patients conditions
12. Keep in mind the values and necessity of
keeping accurate and adequate records
13. Patients are entitled to an informed consent.
 Examples liabilities of Nursing:
 Liability for injury to patient
 Liability for sponge left in the patient’s
abdomen
 Liability for a safety pin left in patient’s
abdomen
 Liability for defective equipment
 Liability for death for patient who jump from
window of his room
 Liability for negligence of surgical nurse
 Liability for rapture of surgical wound.
 Liability for burns for suffered by patient
 Liability for burns from hot water bags
 Liability for negligence of nurse
employees
 Liability fro death of infant resulting
from injection of digitalis
 Liability of nurse performing
administrative work
 THANK YOU!