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Health Care Ethics Case Studies

Posted in Uncategorized | August 27th, 2011

health care ethics case studies
Could a nurse sue a patient who makes a racist remark toward them?

I am in an Ethics in Health Care class and I am doing a case study. Here it is. Your role: You are a nurse in an emergency room. You are Mexican-American. It is two in the morning on a Thursday and a fairly slow night. Mrs. Miller is brought in for a bruised toe. Mrs. Miller is 92 years old and clearly not pleased with being here. You walk over to get information from her, but when Mrs. Miller sees you, she screams: “Get that (racist term for a Mexican) away from me! I don’t want one of them people anywhere need me! She’s probably one of them illegal aliens!”

Can you sue Mrs. Miller? If so, on what grounds?

I am having trouble finding information on this subject. If anyone has had previous experience or knows a website I could go to, I would appreciate it and give out max points for it.

Thanks

“Anyone can sue anyone for anything.” That is a basic principle of law.

However, the nurse has no grounds for a successful suit, and if she filed one would likely be sanctioned (‘fined’) for filing a frivolous suit.

The old lady insulting her did not cause her any damages. She didn’t lose any money, or get any trouble at work, etc etc etc.

No law requires people not to be rude.

Now, there ‘are’ laws about disorderly conduct, and there are ‘hate speech’ laws in many places, so there “might” be grounds for her to be cited and criminally charged – but a civil lawsuit? No.

Richard