The EMT Liability Pop Quiz

There really is a dizzying array of stuff we can do to get ourselves in legal hot water in EMS. I was considering a few this afternoon and I got this idea.

Let’s play a game. I’ll give you a whole list of scenarios and you match the legal transgression to the act. OK, that was a really boring and overly technical way to describe my game.

I’ll say what they did; you tell me what they did wrong. Sound like fun? I agree. Let’s begin.

Here are all the possible answers:

• Sounds OK to me
• Negligence
• Battery
• Abandonment
• Assault

Jot your answers down on a scrap of paper. I’ll be back on Thursday with my answers and the rationale behind them.

Continue Reading…

The Ultimate EMS Protocol

I don’t handle the card much anymore. It stays inside a plastic sleeve in my planner. The edges are worn and the words are faded. It wasn’t printed on kind of paper that travels well in a wallet for twenty plus years. But it’s been worth carrying. It is, quite simply, the ultimate EMS protocol.

I don’t read it often. I’ve read it enough times over the past two decades to have it pretty well memorized. It’s my STAR CARE card.

I got it back when I was a paramedic student at Baystar Ambulance in San Mateo California. It was 1992. I always believed the original author was none-other-than EMS guru Mike Taigman. Mike had signed on to be the quality care guy at the fledgling service and I knew the cards had originated in his office.

The idea was simple. We can’t write a policy for eveything you may encounter in the field. Instead, use this guideline. If the decision you’re about to make passes these eight tests, we support you. NO matter what. Come hell or high water … we have your back.

It’s brilliant really. It’s the policy to end all policies. It’s the grand daddy algorithm. It’s the ultimate protocol.

Continue Reading…

What Is The Duty To Act?

This week I’d like to explore two related topics that tend to create a bunch of confusion – the duty to act and the good Samaritan law. If you want to see a room full of EMTs argue with each other, ask a question like, “So, when does an EMT have a legal duty to act?” or “To whom does the good sam law really apply?” These are subjects where myth and confusion are more common than fact so lets jump in to these two, often confusing, legal tenants.

Today we’ll look at the duty to act and on Thursday we’ll dive in to the good samaritan law.

On duty or off duty, paid or volunteer, in or out of uniform, when do you, as a professional rescuer really have a legal duty to act? Once you have a duty to act, what does that mean for your care and your liability? The true meaning of the duty to act can be confusing.

One of the things that make legal definitions like the duty to act so hard to nail down is the fact that they are not elements of federal law. They can’t be applied universally to caregivers around the nation. If they were we could say, “Here in the United States the duty to act is defined as … This is different from Canada and Great Britain where …” But it isn’t that simple. Depending on which country, state or territory you live in, the duty to act can mean very different things.

Continue Reading…