Improving both oral and writing skills is of paramount importance in understanding the legal and ethical issues that students will face in the healthcare setting.

Before beginning, you should review the document "Introduction to Case Briefing" (https://wwws.law.northwestern.edu/student-life/student-services/orientation/documents/orientation-reading-introduction-to-case-briefing.pdfLinks to an external site.) from the School of Law at Northwestern University. This will give you a better understanding of how to review a legal case study, how to make a legal brief (summary), and why these are important in the practice of law.

Research an assigned legal case study.

• Case: O'Neill v. Montefiore Hosp, 11 A.D.2d 132, 202 N.Y.S.2d 436 (N.Y. App. Div. 1960)
• Document: https://casetext.com/case/oneill-v-montefiore-hospLinks to an external site. (Located in Unit 1 Documents folder)
• The brief does not have to be longer than two pages in length and should follow this format:
  • Each case is given a title that signals the type of case about to be reviewed.
  • Case citation. A case citation describes the identity of the parties in the case, the text in which the case can be found, and the year in which the case was decided. For example: Boulia v. Superior Court (Glenchur), 225 Cal. Rptr. 297 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).
    • Boulia v. Superior Court (Glenchur) - Identifies the basic parties involved in the lawsuit.
    • 225 Cal. Rptr. 297 - Identifies the case as being reported in volume 225 of the California Reporter at page 297.
    • Ct. App. 1986 - Identifies the case as being decided in the California Court of Appeal in 1986.
  • A review of the details of the case. These should be summarized in clear, concise, chronological statements and be numerically ordered. Only the major facts, important to the issues in the case, should be included.
  • The issues discussed in any given case are selected for review on the basis of medical and legal pertinence to the health care professional. Although any one case may have multiple issues, only those considered pertinent are reviewed here. Students should phrase the issue of the case in the form of one or two brief statements (e.g., the issue is whether or not a woman's right to privacy allows her to have an abortion).
  • The court's ruling based on the facts, issues, and applicable laws pertaining to the issue in the case, which should be phrased in the form of a summary statement.
  • The rationale behind how the court arrived at its decision based on the facts, issues, and relevant laws surrounding the case. Students should summarize in numerical steps the reasoning of the court in deciding the case.

After completing the typed case brief, answer discussion questions pertaining to the case.

• Discussion questions, although prompted by a particular case, may not necessarily be germane to the facts of the case. The questions merely allow you to brainstorm how you would respond as a leader when faced with a healthcare administrative dilemma
  • Are all the elements required in a negligence suit present?
  • What standard of care is required?
  • Who would you consider to be the potential plaintiff and defendant?
  • How would you argue for the plaintiff?
  • What evidence would you present?
  • If you were on the jury, what would your finding be, based on only the facts as presented and the classroom discussion?
  • If you find the defendant responsible, what damages would you award, and for what reasons?
  • How might one's professional code of ethics be violated in this case?
  • Describe how the principles of patient autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice may have been violated in the case.
  • Discuss the issues that may impact the people involved (e.g., family members, physicians, and other caregivers including nurses, chaplains, and ethics committee members).
  • Describe how financial concerns can affect the decision-making process.
  • Describe how corporate culture can affect the decision-making process.