Health & Disability Commissioner Act 1994

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

C

Costs – at first teleconference plaintiff put on notice proceedings high risk – should have been abandoned at that point – defendant incurred legal expenses unnecessarily – tragic background to case – whether lower award justified on compassionate grounds – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(2)

Costs – award against apparently successful party – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(2)

Costs – not sought in the course of hearing – whether Tribunal functus officio – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(2)

Costs – principles to be applied – costs awarded against self-represented party - Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(2)

Costs – principles to be applied – whether principles different where Director of Proceedings has brought the proceedings – whether costs to be awarded against Director of Proceedings – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(2)

Costs – whether costs follow the event in proceedings under Human Rights Act 1993, Privacy Act 1993 and Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 – Human Rights Act 1993, s 105

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D

Damages – flagrant disregard of rights – meaning of “flagrant” – Health and Disability Commissioner Act s 57(1)(d)

Declaration that actions breached Code of Rights – circumstances in which declaration can be withheld – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54(1)(a)

Dignity – interpretation of – persons with disabilities – plaintiff lacking capacity to know breach of right has taken place – whether loss of dignity assessed subjectively or objectively – basis on which damages for loss of dignity to be assessed – assessment of quantum – discretion to grant remedy – Human Rights Act 1993, s 92M – Privacy Act 1993, s 88 – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 57

Disability Services Provider – client in care of community home – care falling short of expected standard – failure to provide services with reasonable care and skill – failure to provide services that minimised potential harm and optimised quality of life – failure to provide legal guardians with information a reasonable consumer would expect – Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996 – Rights 4(1), 4(4) and 6

Disability Services Provider – home based support services – service failures – aggrieved person left unmonitored for approximately two years – failure to provide appropriate monitoring and supervision – failure to provide services with reasonable care and skill – Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996 – Right 4(1)

Discovery – see index to Human Rights Act 1993 for relevant decisions

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E

Exploitation by health care provider – whether established on the facts – credibility – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54 – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Rights 2 and 4

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F

Failure to provide services in a manner consistent with the needs of a person – whether ambiguity in “his or her needs” – whether to be equated with what the consumer wants - – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 4(3)

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H

Health care procedure – treatment – meaning of – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 2(1)

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I

In-Court media coverage – camera in court – still photographs – taking of still photographs of witnesses – whether permitted – In-Court Media Coverage Guidelines 2012 – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 58 – Human Rights Act 1993, ss 105(2)(b) and 107

Interim order application – see index to Human Rights Act 1993 for relevant decisions

Investigation – meaning of – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 50(1)

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J

Jurisdiction – a person in respect of whom an investigation has been conducted under Part 4 of the HDC Act – Health and Disability Commissioner found no breach of the Code on the part of the provider – whether statutory prerequisites to jurisdiction satisfied – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, ss 50 and 51

Jurisdiction – defendant not a provider in respect of whom an investigation has been conducted under Part 4 of the HDC Act in relation to any action alleged to be in breach of the Code of Rights – no finding by Health and Disability Commissioner that there had been a breach of the Code of Rights on the part of the provider – whether preliminary assessment an investigation – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, ss 33, 45, 50

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M

Maintenance of professional boundaries – failure to set and maintain – how established – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 4(2)

Maintenance of professional boundaries – whether a necessary as opposed to a desirable component of the legal, professional, ethical and other relevant standards applicable to a natural health practitioner – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 4(2)

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N

Name suppression – principles to be applied – interpretation of “desirable” – Human Rights Act 1993, s 107(3) – New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, s 14

Name suppression – rescission of order where protection no longer sought

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P

Principles of health care – identification and application of principles

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R

Remedy – delay – discretion to refuse relief on grounds of delay by plaintiff – equity and good conscience obligations of Tribunal – whether factors relevant to the exercise of the discretion to dismiss a monetary claim for undue delay have the same application to a claim for non-monetary relief such as a declaration – Human Rights Act 1993, s 105(2)(c) – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, ss 50 and 51 – Limitation Act 2010, ss 8, 9, 10 and 11

Remedy – loss of dignity – interpretation of – persons with disabilities – plaintiff lacking capacity to know breach of right has taken place – whether loss of dignity assessed subjectively or objectively – basis on which damages for loss of dignity to be assessed – assessment of quantum – discretion to grant remedy – Human Rights Act 1993, s 92M – Privacy Act 1993, s 88 – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 57

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S

Standard of care required of health care providers – reasonable care and skill – failing to provide services that complied with legal, professional and ethical standards – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 4(1) and Right 4(2)

Standard of care required of health care providers – reasonable care and skill – whether required standard of reasonable care and skill that of the reasonably careful practitioner of the relevant profession of complementary medicine – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 4(1)

Standard of care required of health care providers – whether Tribunal can reject expert evidence of a particular accepted practice as not reasonable – whether Tribunal can set higher standard – whether standard of care in a western country must take into account fact that practitioner is practising alongside system of orthodox medicine and required to observe the same Code of Rights as registered medical practitioners

Standard of proof in proceedings under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act – meaning of balance of probabilities – whether serious nature of allegations made and of the consequences of upholding complaint requires a high degree of cogency – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 54

Statement of reply – failure to file within 30 days after service of statement of claim – whether discretion to grant leave to file out of time – circumstances in which leave may be granted – Human Rights Act 1993, ss 105 and 108 – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, s 58 – Human Rights Review Tribunal Regulations 2002, reg 15

Strike-out application – principles to be applied – proceedings clearly untenable in law – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, ss 50 and 51

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U

Unregistered health providers – accountability of Shiatsu practitioner under Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights – application to Shiatsu practitioner both when providing Shiatsu therapy and non-Shiatsu massage therapy – damages for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings – damages for flagrant disregard of rights – Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994, ss 54, 57(1)(c) and 57(1)(d) – Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996 – Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Rights 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7

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