Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

assaulted will bring a legal action for
battery, with the sexual touching
being the offensive contact. Since a
battery is considered an injury to the
person’s dignity as well as to their
person, the court can find large
damages even if the person suffered
no physical harm.
Best Evidence Rule A legal doctrine that requires the
primary evidence of a fact should be
found, or its absence explained,
before a copy or oral evidence on the
same matter can be introduced. This
is often at issue in medical records.
A physician may not testify about the
contents of medical records unless
the record is in evidence. If the
defendant can show that the medical
record was lost in a fire, then the
court will allow the testimony. If,
however, a party intentionally
destroys a record, the court may not
allow that party to testify about the
contents of that record.
Boilerplate A disparaging term for generic
paragraphs that are inserted in legal
documents without reference to the
specific subject of the contract. A
common example is the endless
pages of fine print that fills
commercial leases. A certain amount
of boilerplate is necessary in most
legal documents to establish the
assumptions underlying the
agreement. Boilerplate becomes a
problem when it is inserted as a
matter of course without determining
its effect on the document. This is a
special problem for physicians
because of the special laws that
govern medical practice. A standard
commercial lease often has terms
that base part of the rent on the
tenant’s net sales. While acceptable
for a clothing store, such terms
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