Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 395 > Part II - Trauma

• Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Director: means any member of the official board of directors as reported in the organization's annual corporate report to the Florida Department of State, or, if no such report is made, any member of the operating board of directors. See Florida Statutes 395.002
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• General hospital: means any facility which meets the provisions of subsection (12) and which regularly makes its facilities and services available to the general population. See Florida Statutes 395.002
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• hospital: includes a medical office building located on the same premises as a hospital facility, provided the land on which the medical office building is constructed is zoned for use as a hospital; provided the premises were zoned for hospital purposes on January 1, 1992. See Florida Statutes 395.002
• Interfacility trauma transfer: means the transfer of a trauma victim between two facilities licensed under this chapter, pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• International Classification Injury Severity Score: means the statistical method for computing the severity of injuries sustained by trauma patients. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Level I trauma center: means a trauma center that:
  (a) Has formal research and education programs for the enhancement of trauma care; is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with Level I trauma center and pediatric trauma center standards; and has been approved by the department to operate as a Level I trauma center. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Level II trauma center: means a trauma center that:
  ¹(a) Is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with Level II trauma center standards and has been approved by the department to operate as a Level II trauma center or is designated pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local funding contribution: means local municipal, county, or tax district funding exclusive of any patient-specific funds received pursuant to ss. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Pediatric trauma center: means a hospital that is verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with pediatric trauma center standards as established by rule of the department and has been approved by the department to operate as a pediatric trauma center. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or governmental unit. See Florida Statutes 395.002
• Provisional trauma center: means a hospital that has been verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with the requirements in…. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trauma agency: means a department-approved agency established and operated by one or more counties, or a department-approved entity with which one or more counties contract, for the purpose of administering an inclusive regional trauma system. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Trauma caseload volume: means the number of trauma patients calculated by the department using the data reported by each designated trauma center to the hospital discharge database maintained by the agency pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Trauma center: means a hospital that has been verified by the department to be in substantial compliance with the requirements in…. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Trauma patient: means a person who has incurred a physical injury or wound caused by trauma and has accessed a trauma center. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Trauma transport protocol: means a document which describes the policies, processes, and procedures governing the dispatch of vehicles, the triage, prehospital transport, and interfacility trauma transfer of trauma victims. See Florida Statutes 395.4001
• Trauma victim: means any person who has incurred a single or multisystem injury due to blunt or penetrating means or burns and who requires immediate medical intervention or treatment. See Florida Statutes 395.4001