Download Pittman, Chapter 7 Supplement

CHAPTER 7
MATERIALS TO SUPPLEMENT TEXTBOOK
J. Pittman, Instructor
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CIVIL VERSUS CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal Law
Civil Law
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Area of concern: Rights and
duties between individuals
Wrongful act: Harm to a person
or to a person's property
Party who brings suit: Person
who suffered harm
Standard of proof:
Preponderance of the
evidence
Remedy: Damages (money)
and/or an equitable remedy
• Area of concern: Offenses
against society as a whole
• Wrongful act: Behavior that
violates a criminal statute
• Party who brings suit: The state
• Standard of proof: Beyond a
reasonable doubt
• Remedy: Punishment (fine
and/or imprisonment)
Jeffrey Pittman
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STATE COMMON LAW PRIVACY RIGHTS
Through the common law process, state courts have developed
the following torts, providing additional privacy protections
• Intrusion Upon Seclusion
• Public Disclosure of Private Facts Causing Injury to Reputation
• Publicity Placing Another in a False Light in the Public eye
• Misappropriation of a Person’s Name or Likeness
Privacy Law - Jeffrey Pittman
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INTRUSION
 This tort is an intrusion upon a person’s right to
seclusion or solitude
 There is liability only if the interference with the
plaintiff's seclusion is a substantial one, highly
offensive to the ordinary reasonable person
 The “offensiveness” of the intrusion is by guided by whether
a reasonable expectation of privacy was violated
Privacy Law - Jeffrey Pittman
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FALSE LIGHT IN THE PUBLIC EYE
 This tort involves the defendant revealing
information about a person that places that person
in a false light. A plaintiff here must demonstrate:
 The false light in which he was placed by the publicity
would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and
 The defendant had knowledge of or acted in reckless
disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the
false light in which the plaintiff would be placed
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PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF PRIVATE FACTS
• This tort requires public disclosure of private
information about a person that, even though true,
generates publicity of a highly objectionable kind
• An example might be the disclosure of names and
details about employees fired for viewing
pornography at work
Privacy Law - Jeffrey Pittman
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APPROPRIATION
• Here a defendant is charged with use of a person’s
name or likeness without permission
• This invasion of privacy would include activities such
as the unauthorized use of a person’s name in an
advertising campaign
Privacy Law - Jeffrey Pittman
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POSSIBLE NEGLIGENCE CASE
• Patient visits surgeon who
advises that Patient’s
parathyroid gland must be
removed surgically
• For an example of this
surgery, see Parathyroid
Surgery: Minimally Invasive
Parathyroid Surgery Video
J. Pittman, Instructor
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PARATHYROID CASE
• Patient had informed surgeon that Patient has used
a psychiatric, antianxiety drug, Clomipramine, for 25
years
• Clomipramine is in a group of medications called
tricyclic antidepressants
• Clomipramine works by increasing serotonin, a
natural substance in the brain that is needed to
preserve mental balance
J. Pittman, Instructor
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PARATHYROID CASE
• During surgery,
surgeon uses an
intravenous dose of
Methylene Blue Dye
to mark parathyroid
tissue, for ease in
location during
surgery
J. Pittman, Instructor
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PARATHYROID CASE
• After surgery, Patient went into a coma and later
died due to serotonin toxicity, brought on by the
interaction of Methylene Blue Dye and Patient’s
prior use of Clomipramine
• Two months after the surgery, the FDA responds with
FDA Drug Safety Communication: Serious CNS
reactions possible when methylene blue is given to
patients taking certain psychiatric medications
J. Pittman, Instructor
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PARATHYROID CASE
• Question – was the surgeon negligent in using
Methylene Blue Dye
J. Pittman, Instructor
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