Wrongful harm

Leid, n. sorrow, pain wrong, harm mourning, leiden, v.t. suffer imdergo permit. — v.i. suffer. 

The new hand protection standard resulted from OSHA s belief that many hand injuries result from not wearing hand protection or wearing protection for the wrong type of hazards. Employers should evaluate and provide hand protection when there are hazards to hands from absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical burns, thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes. 

The above example, of course, is relatively abstract and academic , and as such perhaps not of too much interest to the majority. Another example, with more practical application, is transfer of calibration models from one instrument to another. This is an endeavor of enormous current practical importance. Witness that hardly a month passes without at least one article on that topic in one or more of the analytical or spectroscopic journals. Yet all those reports are the same Effect of Data Treatment ABC Combined with Algorithm XYZ Compared to Algorithm UVW or some such they are all completely empirical studies. In themselves there is nothing wrong with that. The problem is that there is nothing else. There are no critical reviews summarizing all this work and extracting those aspects that are common and beneficial (or common and harmful, for that matter). 

The prototypical form of error in the health care system that could be reduced by a systems approach is medication error. The kind of error identified in the literature—overdose of chemotherapy, injection of the wrong drug, etc.—sometimes leads to either injury or death, the kinds of harm that are the central concern of after-the-fact medical liability adjudication. Phar-macogenomics introduces not only another conception of harm—genetic risks—but also new ways of developing and prescribing drugs. 

After she walked out, I picked up the phone, called the director and said, I have to resign. I can t go on. I m afraid I m going to make a mistake and harm somebody. He said, What do you mean I said, I m so sick I think I am dying. He said, What s wrong with you I said, I ve told you many times. Every time I d told him something was wrong with me he had said, Oh, you just have the flu. I had said, No, I don t have the flu. Nobody has the flu nonstop. It doesn t go away anymore. I m sick all the time. Now he said, You just need a vacation. I said, I can t stay. I m going to make a terrible mistake and injure somebody. I quit on June 1, 1993. 

Even if you ve never heard of handwriting analysis, you can probably tell that there s something wrong with the man in handwriting sample B. If you could pick this sample apart letter by letter, you d find he has a number of what I call "Hell Traits." Hell traits are personality characteristics that indicate the person will be harmful to himself or others emotionally, mentally or physically. This letter is compliments of the Arizona State Prison. There s a reason he s in the Arizona State Prison. This person is a loony and potentially dangerous. He probably should never be let out of jail. But, I do like the happy face. Nice touch. That makes me really trust him. .. just kidding, of course. 

This volume of the series Medicinal Plants of the World Chemical Constituents, Modern and Traditional Medicinal Uses contains information on 16 plant species and follows the same format as volumes 1 and 2. Some of the plants discussed in volume 3 may be considered controversial in their classification as medicinal. However, the Paracelsian dictum that sola dosis fecit venenum has been appreciated since ancient times, and throughout the ages many highly toxic materials used for lethal purposes have also found applications in modern medicine. It has been recognized that plants contain substances that are either harmful or toxic. However, it is wrong to think that there are plant toxins that are known or that are likely to have adverse effects on any and every form of life. A common feature of most toxic plants is that they are also known for their curative properties, and although they may provide the cure for an individual s disease at one dose, they may cause the death of the same individual at another. 

For practical reasons the plants of organic producers need to stay healthy, so farmers are unlikely to adopt new practices if they observe increased susceptibility to diseases and pests. If the above-listed hypotheses are substantiated, this will provide a guarantee that possible health advantages are retained even when new methods are adopted. There is, however, a risk that the development or adoption of effective methods to prevent diseases and pests, which do not depend on the intrinsic resistance of the plants, could relax this selection and thus lead to less health-protective plant composition. Awareness needs to be raised about monitoring plant resistance to diseases and pests as a key indicator not only of production efficiency but also of possible health benefits (and no harm will have been done if this turns out to be wrong). 

Tort law seeks to compensate a person who has been harmed by the wrongful conduct of another and also hopes to deter similar injuries. Tort law considers a person s decision to take a particular action and the risk involved when determining liability. As the cases above illustrate, sleep disorders and sleep deprivation can play an important role in choice and risk. Additionally, physicians who treat patients for sleep disorders have an obligation to warn their patients of the risks of the sleep condition and any treatment rendered. Failure to inform then-patient of the risks could lead to injuries to others, for which the physician might be liable. 

Also the right of reply in the press should be expanded such that it should apply not only when a person s reputation is harmed, but also when it can be shown that a news item is grossly one-sided or wrong, and that the truth itself has been harmed. 

---