Reference no: EM133857342
Question s
1. Which of the following statements best summarizes the rule from Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California?
A) Health care professionals, such as therapists, are barred from disclosing any information regarding patients, even when there exists threat of impending physical danger to a third party.
B) Health care professionals, such as therapists, owe no duty of care to non-patients and can therefore act in careless disregard of non-patient safety.
C) Health care professionals, such as therapists, owe a duty to warn third parties of serious violent dangers posed by patients in their care.
D) Health care professionals, such as therapists, must be expected to act in the highest capacity of their profession in determining whether a patient poses a risk to a third party.
2. Curtis, one of eight children, was stricken with typhoid fever, and was being cared for by his brother, Lawson, who soon fell ill as well. The attending physicians who were taking care of the two did not notify the county health officer of typhoid fever in the house, nor did they post any sort of notice that typhoid fever was present to warn others in close proximity. Further, the physicians did not notify Curtis and Lawson's family of the risk of communicability of typhoid fever or how to properly prevent the spread of the disease, resulting in the family falling sick and one of the younger brothers dying from the illness.
The family is suing the physicians for negligence. In a jurisdiction that follows the reasoning and ruling of the court in the Tarasoff, the negligence suit will likely:
A) Prevail because the special relationship of physician/patient ended as soon as typhoid fever became a concern of public peril.
B) Not prevail because healthcare professionals are under no obligation to warn others of the dangers patients may pose.
C) Prevail because when a medical professional determines, pursuant to the standards of his or her profession, that a patient presents a serious danger of harm or injury to another, the medical professional incurs an obligation to use reasonable care to protect the intended victim against such danger.
D) Not prevail because the physicians' inaction to inform the family or health officials was not the direct cause of the injuries..
Read Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California 131 Cal.Rptr. 14, 17 Cal.3d 425, 551 P.2d 334 (1976)