HEALTHCARE
PROFESSIONAL
AND LAW – PART 2
DR. RESTY L. PICARDO
CRIMES, MISDEMEANOR AND
FELONIES
CRIME – an act committed or omitted in violation of the law
CRIMES, MISDEMEANOR
AND FELONIES
Conspiracy to commit a crime: exists when two or more
persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and
decide to commit it.
PRINCIPALS
CRIMES, MISDEMEANOR
AND FELONIES
CRIMES, MISDEMEANOR
AND FELONIES
ACCESSORIES - Accessories are those who, having knowledge of
the commission of the crime, and without having participated
therein, either as principals or accomplices, take part subsequent
to its commission in any of the following manners :
1. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the
effects of the crime.
2. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects
or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
3. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of
the crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions
or whenever the author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide,
murder, or an attempt to take the life of the Chief Executive, or is known
to be habitually guilty of some other crime.
FELONIES - A PUBLIC OFFENSE FOR WHICH A CONVICTED PERSON IS LIABLE
TO BE SENTENCED TO DEATH OR BE IMPRISONED IN A PENITENTIARY OR PRISON.
acts and omissions punishable by law are felonies
(delitos). Felonies are committed not only by means
of deceit (dolo) but also by means of fault (culpa).
FELONIES ACCORDING TO STAGES OF ACTS OF
EXECUTION
FELONIES ACCORDING TO DEGREE OF PUNISHMENT
FELONIES AGAINST PERSONS
is when one person kills another (no intent)
the act of deliberately causing the Physical Injuries - wound, beat, or
death of a very young child (under assault another.
1 year old).
Mutilation - depriving a person, either totally or
partially, or some essential organ for reproduction.
the expulsion of a fetus from the
uterus before it has reached the
stage of viability (in human Rape - RA 8353 – Anti-Rape Law of 1997
beings, usually about the 20th
week of gestation)
FELONIES AGAINST PERSONAL LIBERTY
Abandonment of persons in danger - Anyone who shall fail to
render assistance to any person whom he shall find in an uninhabited
place wounded or in danger of dying, when he can render such assistance
without detriment to himself, unless such omission shall constitute a more
serious offense.
Abandonment of one’s own victim - Anyone who shall fail to
help or render assistance to another whom he has accidentally wounded or
injured.
Grave Coercion (restrict or force) - without authority of law,
shall, by means of violence, prevent another from doing
something not prohibited by law, or compel him to do something
against his will whether it be right or wrong
FELONIES AGAINST PROPERTY
any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal
property belonging to another, by means of violence against or
intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything."
Theft - with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation
of persons nor force upon things, shall take the personal property of
another without the latter’s consent
willful destruction of personal property motivated by ill
will or resentment towards its owner.
FELONIES AGAINST CHASTITY
Adultery is committed by a wife
and should be charged together
with the other man, while
concubinage is committed by a
husband and should be charged
together with the other woman or
concubine
FELONIES AGAINST CIVIL STATUS
FELONIES AGAINST HONOR
If the imputation is verbally made, then it is considered as slander. However, if the imputation is
made through writing, printing, lithography, radio and other similar means, it is punishable as libel.
MISDEMEANORS
MISDEMEANOR – a general name for a criminal offense which does not in law amount to
felony punishable by a fine or imprisonment of less than 1 year.
CIRCUMSTANCES CONSIDERED BY LAW
AFFECTING CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Justifying circumstances - those wherein the acts of the actor are in accordance with law,
hence, he is justified. There is no criminal and civil liability because there is no crime.
Exempting circumstances - There is a crime committed but no criminal liability arises from
it because of the complete absence of any of the conditions which constitute free will or
voluntariness of the act. There is civil liability.
Mitigating circumstances - Those circumstance which reduce the penalty of a crime. Reduces the
penalty of the crime but does not erase criminal liability nor change the nature of the crime.
Aggravating circumstances - Those circumstance which raise the penalty for a crime
without exceeding the maximum applicable to that crime.
Alternative circumstances - are those which must be taken into consideration as
aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime and the other conditions
attending its commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and the degree of instruction and
education of the offender.
JUSTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES
EXEMPTING
CIRCUMSTANCES
1. Imbecility and insanity.
2. Minority – 9 yrs old below and
9-15 yrs old
3. Accident.
4. Compulsion of irresistible force.
5. Impulse of uncontrollable fear.
6. Insuperable or lawful cause or
absolutory cause.
MITIGATING
CIRCUMSTANCES
1. Justifying and exempting.
2. 18 yrs old below or over 75 yrs old.
3. Lack of intention to commit so grave a
wrong.
4. Sufficient provocation.
5. Immediate vindication of a grave
offense.
6. Passion or obfuscation.
7. Voluntary surrender and plea of guilty.
8. Offender is deaf and dumb, or blind.
9. Illness that diminishes the exercise of
will power.
AGGRAVATING
CIRCUMSTANCES
1. Taking advantage of his public position.
2. Crime committed in contempt of or with insult to public
authority.
3. Act committed with insult or lack of regard due to
offended party by reason of age, sex, rank or crime is
committed in the dwelling of the offended party, if the
latter has not given consent.
4. Abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness.
5. Committed in a place of worship.
6. Crime committed on the occasion of a calamity.
7. Consideration of a price, promise or reward.
8. By means of inundation, fire, etc.
9. Evident premeditation.
10. Craft, fraud or disguise is employed.
11. Cruelty.
ALTERNATING
CIRCUMSTANCES
Examples:
1. Relationship
2. Alcoholism
Lack of education is not mitigating in
the following cases:
3. Rape
4. Forcible abduction
5. Arson
6. Treason
7. Seduction and acts of lasciviousness
8. Heinous crimes
HOW DOES ONE AVOID
CRIMINAL LIABILITY?
Familiarity with the Philippine Laws governing the respective professions.
Awareness on the laws affecting healthcare practice.
Get a copy of job description, rules & regulations, and policies.
Upgrade skills and competency.
Accepting responsibilities within your scope of responsibility and job
description.
No delegation. Consult superiors.
Determine subordinates’ competence. Inform doctors about clients’ condition.
Good interpersonal relationship. Accurate and adequate documentation.
Verify unclear orders. Informed consent for patients.
WILLS - A LEGAL DECLARATION OF A PERSON’S INTENTIONS UPON DEATH
Important Terms
Administrator - the appointed legal representative of the deceased.
WILLS - TYPES
may be printed, signed by
entirely written, dated, the testator and at least
and signed by the hand also called an oral or verbal
three witnesses, and will
of the testator himself. It notarized.
is subject to no other
form, and may be made
in or out of the
Philippines, and need
not be witnessed
WILLS
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS:
A. Requirements of testator:
1. Must have the intention
2. Of legal age
3. Of sound mind (clear thinking & free from
undue influence)
B. Administrator should be named.
C. Signed by testator, attested and signed by at
least 3 witness in his presence and of one another.
D. Requirements of witness:
1. Sound mind
2. Of legal age E. Must be in the language known to the
testator.
3. Not blind, deaf or dumb F. Acknowledged before a notary public by the
4. Able to read and write testator and witness.
GIFTS
Requirements:
1. Must be a personal property
2. Intention to make the gifts
3. Indication of transfer of control
4. Acceptance
Gifts causa mortis or donation
mortis causa - A gift made by
a person (the donor) in
contemplation of impending
death, also known as a
deathbed gift.
ELEMENTS OF A
LAWSUIT
A duty Breach of Duty Causation Damages
ANATOMY OF A LAWSUIT
Complaint Answer Trial
IMPORTANT TERMS
Amicable settlement - is a process where parties to a dispute or a lawsuit find ways to resolve their differences in a friendly
and non-contentious way.
Pre-trial - is the stage of a court proceeding before the trial. The importance of pre-trial is that it allows the parties to explore
the possibility of an amicable settlement or a submission to alternative modes of dispute resolution.
Disputants/Litigants – parties to a case.
Plaintiff /Complainant – the person filing the case.
Defendant/Respondent – the person being sued.
Testimony of facts / Testimony of opinions
Expert witness - One who by reason of education or specialized experience possesses superior knowledge respecting a
subject about which persons having no particular training are incapable of forming an accurate opinion or deducing correct
conclusions
Privilege against self-incrimination - It bans a a witness from being compelled to give testimony that is self-incriminating.
Hearsay evidence - is evidence of a statement that was made other than by a witness while testifying at the hearing and that
is offered to prove the truth of the matter stated.
Privilege communication - is an interaction between two parties in which the law recognizes a private, protected
relationship.
Evidence - suggests serving as proof of the actuality or existence of something.
Ante-mortem statements – dying declaration or a statement by a person who believes that death is imminent, relating to
the cause or circumstances of the person's impending death.
Appeals - is the legal process to ask a higher court to review a decision by a judge in a lower court (trial court)
Execution of Judgment
