Legal Aspects in Nursing (KALYANI TOPIC )

1. Legal Aspects In Nursing
-By Kalyani Panchabhai

2. General Objectives
At the end of the seminar students will be able to understand
about legal aspects in nursing and achieve knowledge regarding
it .

3. Specific Objectives
• At the end of the seminar students will be able to
Understand the legal aspects in nursing.
Know the importance of legal aspects in nursing .
Figure out the liabilities of nursing .
List out the legal issues in nursing.
Determine the legal issues in nursing .
Understand the important law in nursing.

5. Introduction
The nurses in the modern era have multifunction in their work setting.
In spite of having in the job description, these job activities are not explicitly
defined.
There is job ambiguity , so in that situation , they need to know about the
law and legal issues that can have a positive impact on them in day to day
functioning and on their client who are the recipient of their care

6. • Moreover, in the competitive world and use of advanced technology,
nurses have multiple and expanded roles to render high – quality
nursing care
• To avoid legal suits and to protect clients, nurses should have a good
understanding of legal issues , ethical and professional roles ,and
nursing regulatory mechanism .

7. Legal Aspects Of Nursing
 Importance of law in nursing .
 Legal liabilities in nursing.
 Legal issues in nursing.

8. Importance of law in nursing
Law are important in nursing as the law protects patients/ clients against
deliberate and inadvertent injury by a nurse ,and also protects nurses against
suits if she renders right care.
1. To provide a framework to establish nursing actions in the care of clients
those are legal.
2. To differentiate the nurse’s responsibilities from other health
professionals.

9. 3. To demarcate the boundaries of independent nursing actions.
4. To assist in maintaining standards of nursing practices by making
nurses accountable under the law .
5. To safeguard and protect the right of self and clients.

10. Legal Liabilities In Nursing
• Liability is a form of a hindrance that causes individuals at a disadvantage.
• It is a stage of accountability or responsibility for doing something
• Legal liability is concerned with legal accountability or responsibility for
something or any action.
• Nurses are legally liable or responsible/accountable to render care to the
assigned patient .
• The person is made legally responsible for his or actions.

11. • Legal liability involves four elements to establish proof of harming
patient:
the duty of care ,breach of duty , causation and damages.
1. The duty of care : Duty of care is a legal obligation to follow the standard in caring patients.
2. Breach of duty :Breach of duty means the failing on the part of nurses to act/ care as per
standard.
3. Causation: Causation is an element of liability to prove that the failure to meet the standard of
care which caused the harm to the patient (proof).
4. Damages: Damage is a term used for the actual harm to a patient resulting from a definite
cause.

12. Legal Issues In Nursing
• The legal issue is a dispute or a legal question that need to deal in the
court for deciding as per civil or criminal law.
• The civil laws resolve most of the legal issues of unitentional ,
intentional, or quasintentional torts, and breach of duty.
•The major legal issues in nursing practice are as follows.

13. Legal issue
in nursing
Invasion
of
privacy
Negligence
Assault
and
battery
Defamati
on of
character
Malpractice

14. Nursing Negligence
• Nursing negligence is the failure by the nurse to take the appropriate
action to protect the patient from harm.
• A nurse who fails to put side-rails on the sides of the bed of a
confused patient or fails to initiate standard safety precautions to
prevent patient harm is by the charge of negligence under civil laws.
• If the negligence is gross , complete disregard of client’s life dealt
under both civil and criminal law .

15. • The common examples of negligence are:
Burns resulting by use of hot water bottle, applying heating pads,
administering steam inhalation , and sitz bath
The incidence of fall among elderly, sedated , preoperatively,
postoperatively, confused, dizzy, blind,and semiconscious when nursed
without fixing bed side- railing.
Patients had fallen due to a slippery or waxed floor.

16. Administration of wrong medications, wrong dose of medication, to
wrong patient.
Unskilled nurses not able to assess symptoms of shock, respiratory
distress.
Injury to patients by using defective apparatus or appliances.
Loss of the unconscious patient’s belongings

17. Malpractice
• Malpractice is negligence by nurses causing an injury or harm to the patients due
to professional misconduct or lack of skill in performing standards of care.
• Nurses need to comply six international “patient safety goals”: identifying
patients correctly, improving communication, safety of high alert medication,
eliminating wrong-site, wrong patient , wrong procedure surgery, reducing the
risk of hospital- acquired infections and reducing the risk of patient harm
resulting from falls in the clinical practice; failing which can be resulted
negligence or malpractice.

18. • The common malpractices in nursing practice can be :
Failure to select an appropriate site by the nurse to administer an intramuscular
injection that causes permanent damage to the patient’s extremity.
Failing to obtain a proper informed consent
Failing to provide patient’s safety: physical, social, spiritual, financial, political,
emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other type of failure.

19. Assault and Battery
• Assault is an intentional , unlawful threat or attempts to make bodily
contact with another person without that patient’s consent.
• The unconsented touching of the body is the example of an assult .
• The battery is an unjustified harmful or offensive touching with the
intention of a crime or doing wrong with a person .

20. • The common example of assult in nursing practice can be threatening
patient while not cooperating to do desirable care.
• Forcible removing the patient’s clothing , administering enema after
the patient has refused it , or pushing a patient on to a chair is an
example of the battery.

21. Restraints
• Restraints are physical, chemical or environmental measures used to
control the physical or behavioral activity of a person or a portion of his/
her body . Physical restraints limit a client’s least restraint practices and the
right to refuse proposed interventions
• For example use of the bed , rails are routine in any hospitals and other
care facilities. Law requires to use that most involuntary medical restraint
when ordered by a physician.

22. Defamation of character
• Defamation is an intentional tort or the issuance of false statement about
another person , causing harm to a person
• Slander is oral defamation of character and libel is a defamation of
character in writing . Defamation of character can be grounded both in
criminal or civil law based on the amount of harm done to the plain Tiff.
• Nurses who make false statements about the patient or their co-workers
have the risk of being sued for slander or libel.

23. Invasion privacy
• All the information of the patient in any form is considered private, confidential
,and legal.
• Certain actions of nurse can constitude an invasion of privacy,e.g unnecessary
exposing patient while assisting for examination, discussion patient information
with other people insisting patient to provide information not required, research
without the consent of the patient.
• Any health information of the patient should not disclose unless required by the
law or given permission by the patient.

24. Fraud
• A person who either practices without registration or fraudulently
misrepresenting him or her to obtain a registration to practice nursing
is fraud under the law.
• The misinterpretation of a procedure or treatment may also consider
as a fraud.

25. Legal Safeguards For Nurses
Informed consent .
Documentation.
Executing physician order .
Good samaritan law
Patient education
Privileged communication.

26. Some Common laws Affects Nursing
Consumer protection act
Prohibition of sexual harassment of women at workplace bill,2010
Biomedical waste ( management and handling) rules, 1998

27. Summary
• Till now we discussed about the introduction of legal aspects in
nursing , importance of law in nursing , legal liabilities in nursing ,
legal issues in nursing.

28. Conclusion
• I conclude that at the end of this seminar students will be able to
understand about legal aspects in nursing , Importance of law in
nursing and legal liabilities in nursing etc.

29. Bibliography
• Textbook of “principles and practice of
nursing management”.
2nd edition, jaypee publication
Page no: 343-348
• Textbook of “ management of nursing
services and education”.
2nd edition , elsevier pub.
Page no : 284-289
• Basavanthappa,b.t . Nursing adminstration”
1st edition, jaypee publication.
Page no: 332-339

30. • Barret ,Jean .“Ward management and teaching”.
2nd edition , english book society
Page no: 300-310
• Russel’s,cs” management and leadership for nurse manager”.
3rd edition Jones Bartlett publisher
page no :267-274.
• WWW. SlideShare.net >salmanhabeebek.
• WWW.slideShare.net >mobile >nhelzki .

31. Thank You !