TORTS & DAMAGES

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Torts
 are civil wrongs that are done to clients

The person who is filing the suit seeks

compensation for damages he feels he
suffered as a result of the action or activity in
question
 also referred as Quasi - delicts

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Medical Malpractice

Is that type of claim which a victim has

available to him to redress a wrong
committed by a medical professional
which has caused bodily harm

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Nursing Malpractice
• Any professional misconduct, or a
bad skillful practice, or any practice
contrary to law or established rules
and regulations whereby the health
of a person is injured.

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Four Elements Involved:
1.Duty
2. Breach
3. Injury
4. Proximate Causation

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Four Elements Involved:
1.Duty
- medical practitioners have a duty to use
at least the same level of care that any
other competent medical practitioner
would use to treat a condition under the
same circumstances

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Four Elements:
2. Breach
- breach of professional duties of
skill and care, or their improper
performance constitutes actionable
malpractice

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Four Elements:

3. Injury
- results from want of due care or
skill, the surgeons may be held
answerable and damages for
negligence may be claimed

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Four Elements:
4. Proximate Causation
- divided in 2 inquiries:
a. the actions in fact caused the harm and
b. these were the proximate cause of the
injury

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Article 2176 of the Civil Code

Vicarious Liability
 obligation is demandable not only for
one’s own acts or omissions, but also for
those of persons for whom one is
responsible
 used to explain the legal responsibility
one party may hold for actions that cause
harm, even if they aren’t the party that
directly caused the harm.
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Respondent Superior
•The master, principal or employer is
responsible for the wrongful acts of his
servant, or employee in certain cases.
•“Captain of the Ship”

NURSING JURISPRUDENCE 11
Duties expected from hospitals under the
Doctrine of Corporate Responsibility:

1. The use of reasonable care in the

maintenance of safe and adequate
facilities and equipment
2. The selection and retention of
competent physicians

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Duties expected from hospitals under the
Doctrine of Corporate Responsibility:

3. The overseeing or supervision of all

persons who practice medicine within its
walls
4. The formulation, adoption and
enforcement of adequate rules and
policies that ensure quality care for its
patients

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Res Ipsa Loquitor
- the thing speaks for itself
- requisites:
 the accident is of a kind which ordinarily does
not occur in the absence of someone’s
negligence
It is caused by an instrumentality within the
exclusive control of the defendant

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Force Majeure
 irresistible
Superior force
Events not foreseeable or avoidable
Act of God
Damages
•Pecuniary compensation,
recompense
•Satisfaction for an injury sustained
•Consequences which the law
imposes for the breach of some duty
or the violation of some right

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Damnum Absque Injuria
- damage without injury
- damage results from a person
exercising his legal rights

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Actual Damages
- loss suffered by a party as he has
duly proved
- cannot be granted unless
supported by the evidence on
record

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Moral Damages

 include physical suffering, mental

anguish, anxiety, besmirched
reputation

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 CRIMES
RELATED TO
NURSING PRACTICE

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A. Crimes Against
Public Interest

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1. Falsification by Public Officer
 Counterfeiting or imitating any
handwriting, signature
 Causing it to appear that persons
have participated in any act or
proceeding when they did not in fact
so participate
 Making untruthful statements in a
narration of facts
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Altering true dates
Issuing in an authenticated form a
document purporting to be a copy of
an original documents when no such
original exists
Intercalating instrument or note relative
to the issuance thereof in a protocol,
registry or official book

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Elements of Falsification by Public
Officer/Employee

1.That the offender is a public officer or

employee
2. That he takes advantage of his official
position
3. The offender falsifies a document which is
any written statement by which a right is
established
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2. Falsification by Private Individual and
use of falsified documents
Any private individual who shall commit any of
the falsification enumerated in the next
preceding article in any public or letter of
exchange or any other kind of commercial
document
 Any person who, to the damage of a 3rd party,
or with the intent to cause such damage, shall
in any private document commit any of the
acts of falsification
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Elements of Falsification by Private Individual
and Use of Falsified Documents

1. The offender is a private individual or a public

officer/employee who did not take advantage
of his official position.
2. That he committed any of the acts of
falsification
3. That the falsification was committed in a public
or official/commercial document

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False Medical Certificates

• Penalties of arresto mayor to prison

correccional and a fine not to exceed 1,000
pesos
1. Any physician issue a false certificate

2. Any public officer who shall issue a false

certificate of merit/service

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B. Crimes Against Persons

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Crimes Against Persons

Parricide
 any person who shall kill his father,
mother, child or spouse

 punished by the penalty of

reclusion perpetua to death
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Crimes Against Persons
Murder
 any person who kills another person

Homicide
Any person who shall kill another without the
attendance of any of the following
circumstances
1. that a person was killed

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Homicide
2. That the accused killed him without any
justifying circumstances
3. That the accused had the intention to kill,
which is presumed
4. That the killing was not attended by any of
the qualifying circumstances of murder, or
by that of parricide or infanticide

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Giving Assistance to Suicide

•Any person who shall assist another

to commit suicide
•Penalty of prison mayor

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Euthanasia
- is the practice of painlessly
putting to death a person suffering
from some incurable disease
- when someone other than the
patient ends the patient’s life as
painlessly as possible out of mercy

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What is the difference between
Assisted Suicide and
Euthanasia?

Assisted Suicide Euthanasia

 occurred when a Active

person intentionally
kills himself with help passive
of another individual

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Places where it is Legal

1.Netherlands
2.Belgium
3.Switzerland

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Infanticide
 any person who shall kill any child
less than 3 days of age
If committed by the mother for the
purpose of concealing his
dishonor, shall be punished of
prison mayor

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Infanticide
 if committed by mother for concealing her
dishonor – prison mayor

By maternal grandparents – reclusion

temporal

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Elements of Infanticide

1. The child was killed

2. That the deceased child was less than 3
days (72 hours) of age
3. That the accused killed the said child

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Intentional Abortion

• Penalty of reclusion temporal, if use violence

to the pregnant woman
• Prison mayor, if no violence but without
consent of the mother
• Prison correccional, if the mother consented

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Abortion
•Termination of pregnancy before the
age of viability (first 12-24 wks or 3-6
mnths)
•Unintentional (miscarriage) or
intentional

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Abortion
expulsion of the product of conception
before the child is viable (first 3 months)

Miscarriage
2nd trimester to viability

Premature Delivery
period of viability to fullterm
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Unintentional Abortion
 penalty of prison correccional

a person cause abortion by violence

but unintentionally

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Elements of Unintentional Abortion

1. That there is a pregnant woman

2. That the violence is used upon such
pregnant woman without intending an
abortion
3. That the violence is intentionally exerted
4. As a result of violence the fetus dies

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Abortion Practiced by a Physician
and Dispensing of Abortives

• Taking advantage of their scientific

knowledge or skill causes an abortion
or assist in causing abortion
• Arresto mayor, if dispensing without
proper prescription from a physician

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Crimes Against Person

Mutilation
• Penalty of reclusion temporal to
perpetua

• Is the lopping or the clipping of some

part of the body

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Kinds of Mutilation

1. By intentionally mutilating another by

depriving him, either totally or partially, of
some essential organ for reproduction
2. By intentionally making other mutilation,
by lopping or clipping off any part of the
body

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Elements of Mutilation of Some
Essential Organ for Reproduction

1. That there be a castration – mutilation of

organs necessary for reproduction
2. That the mutilation is caused purposely
and deliberately, that is, to deprive the
offended party of some essential organ
for reproduction

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Serious Physical Injuries
• Any person who shall wound, beat, or assault
another person

Penalty:
1. Prison mayor – cause insane, imbecile, impotent
or blind
2. Prison correccional – lost the use of speech,
power to hear or smell, lost an eye, hand, foot,
arm, leg
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Serious Physical Injuries

3. Prison correccional (minimum period) – the

person injured become deformed, or lost
any other part of his body, incapacitated for
the performance of work
4. Arresto mayor to prison correccional –
person injured caused the illness or
incapacity for labor of the injured person for
more than 30 days
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Administering Injurious Substance or
Beverages

• Inflicting serious physical injury by knowingly

administering injurious substance or
beverages or by taking advantage of his
weakness of mind or credulity

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Elements of Administering Injurious
Substance or Beverages

1. That the offender inflicted upon another any serious

physical injury
2. That it was done by knowingly administering to him any
injurious substance or beverages or by taking
advantage of his weakness of mind or credulity
3. That he had no intent to kill

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Less Serious Physical Injuries

• Person inflicted another which shall

incapacitate the offended party for 10 days
or more
• May require medical assistance
• Penalty of arresto mayor

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Slight Physical Injuries and Maltreatment

• Penalty of arresto menor

• Incapacitate the offended party for
labor from 1 – 9 days
• Or require medical assistance

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 Anti – Rape Law of 1997
RA no. 8353

• Rape classified as crime against person

under Title Eight of Act no. 3815

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Rape Victim Assistance and
Protection Act of 1998
RA no. 8505

• Rape Crisis Center

DSWD
DOH
DILG
DOJ
NGO
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Rape Crisis Center
1. Providing rape victims with
psychological counseling, medical and
health services including their medico-
legal examination
2. Securing free legal assistance or service,
when necessary for rape victims

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3. Assisting
rape victims in the investigation to
hasten the arrest of offenders and the filing
of cases in court
4. Ensuring the privacy and safety of rape
victims
5. Providing psychological counseling and
medical services
6. Adopting and implementing programs for
the recovery of rape victims

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C. Crimes
Against Honor

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Libel
• Is public and malicious imputation of a crime, or a
vice or defect tending to cause dishonor, discredit
• Committed by means of writing, printing,
engraving, radio, painting
• Penalty prison correccional

Crimes Against Honor 60

Slander
•Oral defamation
•Slander by Deed – any person who
perform any act which shall cast
dishonor, discredit
1. That the offender performs any act not
included in any other crime against
honor

Crimes Against Honor 61

2. That such act is performed in the presence of
other persons
3. That such act casts dishonor, discredit or
contempt upon the offended party

Slander by Deed 62
NURSES and EVIDENCES

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 Evidence

• Is the means of
ascertaining in a judicial
proceeding the truth
respecting a matter of fact

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Evidence

• Signifies those rules of law

where it is determined what
evidence should be admitted
and excluded

Evidence 65
 Presentation of Expert
Testimony

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A. QUALIFYING A WITNESS AS AN EXPERT

Inquire about
1. academic background on the subject
2. his experience, training
3. professional standing
4. relative objectivity of his views
5. degree of concordance of his
views with the facts proved

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B. ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT WITNESS

1. Subject of his opinion

2. The expert must be shown to possess the
knowlegde, skill or experience needed
toinform the court in the particular case under
consideration
3. The testimony must be relevant

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C. ASKING OF HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS

D. NOT TO INCLUDE ASSUMPTIONS NOT SUPPORTED

BY EVIDENCE

E. IMPORTANT FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE

PRESENTATION OF A HANDWRITING EXPERT
- genuine or forged
- by photographs
- description marked as Exhibit A
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Litigation of Medical Negligence

Expert medical testimony

is required in order to
prove a medial
negligence case
Competent Expert Witnesses Medical
Negligence

Ordinarily, only physicians &

surgeons of skill & experience are
competent to testify as to whether
a patient has been treated or
operated upon with reasonable
degree of skill and care
End of Slide