Legal Considerations and Standard Precautions

Expectations:

Be Punctual & Prepared

Learn & Help Others Learn

Be Responsible & Respectful

Goal of First Aid

To Help you gain the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to manage a medical emergency until more advanced help is available

First Aid is not complex and is easy to remember and perform

Unit Objectives

1. Define First Aid

2. Explain the difference between the Good Samaritan Protection and a Legal Duty to Act

3. Differentiate between types of Consent and when they are applied

4. Understand and Practice Universal Precautions

5. 4 Main Legal Considerations

Definitions

Basic First Aid

On a scrap piece of paper,

create a definition for “First Aid”

that has at least

2 criteria

Definitions

Basic First Aid: assessments and interventions that can

be performed by a bystander (or by the victim) with minimal or no medical equipment

First Aid Provider: someone with formal training in first aid

First Aid…

Immediate care

Does NOT take the place of proper medical treatment.

Can mean the difference

between life & death.

First Aid Provider

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for individuals under the age of 44

Safe practices can prevent many injuries, however once an injury has occurred, effective first aid is the difference between time of recovery, a disability, or even life or death

First Provider (Cont’d)

Essential responsibilities:Recognizing a medical emergencyMaking the decision to helpIdentifying hazards and ensuring

personal safetyActivating the EMS systemProviding supportive, basic first aid

care

Need

1 in 3 Americans visit the ER annually70 million ER visits

Rationale

Self

Others Family Friends Students

Physical Education

Coaching

Athletic Training

Legal Matters

People fear being sued as a result of providing First Aid

That is why you need to be knowledgeable of the legalities to help reduce this fear

Good Samaritan Law PASSED BY ALL STATES

Provides protection from liability if provider: Acts in good faith Is neither reckless or negligent Acts prudently and only within scope of his/her

training Does not abandon victim once care is begun Receives no compensation for services

**Paid “Professional Rescuers” have a

legal Duty to Act

Legal Considerations

Consent

Abandonment

Negligence

Confidentiality

Consent

Must be obtained from every conscious and mentally competent adult.

ExpressedImplied

Consent

Expressed Consent: the victim gives permission to receive care

Implied Consent: permission to perform care is assumed on an unresponsive victim

ChildrenElderly

Abandonment

Terminating the care of a victim without ensuring continued care at the same level or higher.** Once you begin caring for a victim, you must

continue until a person of equal or higher training takes over.**

Negligence

Failure to provide the expected standard of care.

Criteria involves:Having a duty to actBreaching that duty (substandard

care)Causing injuries & damagesProximate Cause

Negligence & Duty to Act

No one is required to render first aid unless a legal duty to act exists. Moral vs. Legal Obligations

Legal duty to act: Employment requires it Pre-existing responsibility exists

Must follow guidelines for standards of care (type of rescuer & published recommendations)

Confidentiality

Kiss and Don’t Tell Policy

Discuss only on a medical need to know basis.

State Law exceptions.

Documentation—CYA!!!

Paperwork serves as legal record of your treatment and course of action

Should include: Patient condition when found Patient’s description of injury/illness Initial vitals and repeat vitals Treatment rendered Agency/personnel that took over Infectious disease exposure Reportable conditions Other

Dangers involved in Rendering First Aid

Physical

And

Emotional

Emotional Dangers of First Aid

Stress Guilt Depression Burnout

What do you do?

Physical Dangers of First Aid

Injury Death Disease/Pathogens

What do you do?

Preventing the Physical Dangers of First Aid

Survey the SceneWell talk more about that in later

classes

Observe Universal Precautions

Universal Precautions

Why? Communicable Disease!

Blood & Body Fluids can contain contagious viruses.

The risk is low, but is still present…

So…”observe universal precautions”…

you don’t know if a virus is present, so act as if it is.

Universal Precautions

All blood and certain bodily fluids that may contain blood should be considered potentially infected

Universal Precautions

Wear/Use personal protective equipment(gloves, eye shield, rescue mask/shield)

Remove contaminated materials (gloves, clothing) and dispose of properly

Use alcohol-based hand rubs Decontaminate all surfaces and

equipment (bleach solution) Report exposure

Legal Situations

Groups3-4 people/group

Choose a speaker to report back to class

2-3 minutes to discuss situation and construct answer

Case #1

A child in physical education class hits his head on an closet door that was left open and suffers a head injury.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

Case #2

While you are driving your son and neighbor’s child to school, you are in a car accident. Your neighbor’s child is unresponsive.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

Case # 3

A doctor arrives upon a car accident between two vehicles at an intersection. One of the passengers is critically injured. Another bystander calls 911. The doctor chooses a different route home.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

Case # 4

A coach has an athlete who is unconscious and choking. After a few unsuccessful attempts at the Heimlich, he attempts a tracheotomy.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

Case #5

A child comes to you asking for help for her injured mother. You try to help her with the excessively bleeding wound on her abdomen. You feel like you’re not really helping and realize you are late for an appointment so you leave.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

Case # 6

A woman arrives upon a scene of a bad car accident. There is one victim bleeding profusely. She calls 911, and goes over to help the victim, but he refuses her care because she is not a doctor. The victim later dies.

• Who is responsible?• Why?

What would you do?

You are out for a jog when you come across a man lying on the ground, unconscious. What if…

• You were all alone?• You were with a friend?• Someone was already helping him?• A stranger were attempting to help them by giving

CPR but they were doing it wrong?• The man had highly contagious disease?

Unit Objectives

1. Define First Aid

2. Explain the difference between the Good Samaritan Protection and a Legal Duty to Act

3. Differentiate between types of Consent and when they are applied

4. Understand and Practice Universal Precautions

5. 4 Main Legal Considerations