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Tip of the week: Understand liability in your facility

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, July 15, 2010

Liability exists in various forms. The liability that exists in healthcare does not exist just for the residents or patients the facility or organization cares for; family members, visitors, and workers also have to be considered. Therefore, administrators have to be aware of the legal responsibility and accountability their organization holds over numerous areas, which includes:

• Vicarious liability – The employer’s responsibilities concerning workers. This is sometimes referred to as Respondeat superior, which basically states that the organization is responsible for the behavior of its employees while they are working. In other words, the organization has a responsibility toward making sure its workers are conducting themselves appropriately and are not creating situations that may place the organization in an unwanted position of liability.
• Premises liability – A person who is legally on the premises of the facility and gets hurt due to negligence on behalf of the facility may have a legal claim against the facility. The facility has a responsibility to maintain an environment that is free from hazards that can cause injury.
• Professional liability – Determining negligence in this area is based on determining a reasonable standard of care to benchmark any professional liability practices. Professional liability covers all areas of the facility, but especially areas involved with resident care; therefore, physicians and nurses are strong targets for professional liability claims.

This is an excerpt from the HCPro book, The Long-Term Care Administrator’s Field Guide, by Brian Garavaglia, PhD.

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