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

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Negligence to consider the plaintiff’s negligence<br />

in determining whether the<br />

defendant’s actions caused the<br />

plaintiff’s injuries. In most states,<br />

negligent plaintiffs can still recover,<br />

provided that they were not more<br />

than 50% negligent. See<br />

Contributory Negligence.<br />

Compensatory<br />

Damages<br />

Money paid to an injured or wronged<br />

plaintiff based on their proven losses.<br />

Complaint The written statement in a civil case<br />

setting forth the plaintiff’s claims <strong>and</strong><br />

the legal basis for the lawsuit.<br />

CON Certificate of Need.<br />

Confidential<br />

Communication<br />

Communications between persons in<br />

fiduciary or confidential<br />

relationships. The right of<br />

confidentiality belongs to the client<br />

or patient, not to the fiduciary. A<br />

patient can freely discuss his<br />

physician’s advice, but the physician<br />

cannot freely discuss the patient’s<br />

condition or the advice given the<br />

patient.<br />

Consent A voluntary choice based on<br />

appropriate information. Informed<br />

consent to medical treatment is a<br />

special case of the general laws<br />

governing consent. The legal effect<br />

of consent is the assumption of the<br />

risks of the acts consented to.<br />

Contingent Fee When attorneys base their fees on a<br />

percentage of their client’s recovery.<br />

This allows clients to secure<br />

representation without having to pay<br />

the costs of the litigation. Most<br />

medical malpractice litigation is<br />

done on a contingent fee, as is some<br />

medical business litigation.<br />

Contributory<br />

Negligence<br />

A legal theory that prevented<br />

plaintiffs from recovering damages if<br />

they were even 1% at fault. This has<br />

706

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