Will the Good Samaritan law protect you for providing mutual aid?

He wondered whether licensed nurses who provide what the reader described as “mutual aid” (which isn’t a part of Good Samaritan laws) to people in need can be protected under an exception to the Good Samaritan law.

A Brief Review of the Good Samaritan Law

As I wrote in my blog about taking over the role of Good Samaritan, you’ve got no legal obligation to offer care to anyone beyond your skilled duties to regular patients. If Down If you select to stop on the scene of an emergency or provide assistance to someone who’s having a medical event, you might be immune from lawsuits if that person is injured while providing assistance.

Generally speaking, immunity exists if:

• The injuries were brought on by atypical negligence (not willful or reckless negligence).
• You haven’t any knowledge of the health condition or some other condition of the person for whom you might be caring.
• There is not any compensation for the care provided.
• You provide care in good faith.
• You usually are not accountable for the situation by which you provide care.

What is mutual aid?

Mutual aid is defined in some ways, but for the needs of this blog I even have adopted the next definition: article on the Ethical Unicorn website. The article describes mutual aid as people coming together as a bunch to look after one another. Any help that is required is provided in a “spirit of solidarity and reciprocity, with the larger goal of liberation and progress for all.” Furthermore, everyone contributes to the group and everybody has something they need, so the relationships throughout the group are “symbiotic.” Everyone is seen as equal. Examples include volunteer-run soup kitchens, volunteers or organizations providing transportation to medical appointments, and computer-savvy individuals who help the elderly and homeless get needed appointments. Although the legal liability issues seem minimal within the examples above, for those who were a nurse providing care inside a mutual aid approach, do the Good Samaritan laws apply if that care resulted in injury or death to the person you were caring for?

Good Samaritan Guidelines vs. Mutual Aid

First, the aim of the Good Samaritan law is to encourage you to offer care without liability concerns in case your behavior reflects the required elements listed above. The theory is that for those who were concerned about liability, you wouldn’t even take into consideration stopping to offer care in an emergency. As a result, you might be providing care throughout the limits of your education and training, and the person in an emergency receives care until first responders arrive. Your intervention may save the person’s life or prevent their condition from getting worse. The Good Samaritan law can provide mutual advantages to each the patient and the caregiver. So you can argue that the law should apply to the mutual aid model. But there are problems with this argument. First, it assumes that in a “mutual aid” model of care, when an individual calls you and asks for nursing care, you’ll more than likely ask what the issue is and whether the person has ever been treated for the condition. Then you’ll know just a little concerning the person’s condition. Thus, the second requirement for immunity under the Good Samaritan law cannot apply. Second, for those who are providing care once you encounter an accident or for those who are present when someone has a heart attack and stops respiratory, you probably did not intend to be there on the time to offer care. In contrast, the mutual aid model assumes that you simply intend to offer care when called upon by someone who not directly needs your nursing expertise. It due to this fact seems unlikely that the Good Samaritan law would supply you with immunity from suit in case your care resulted in injury or death to those for whom you provided care under a mutual aid approach. Of course, only a court can determine whether the Good Samaritan law would apply under a “mutual aid” model of care. Even without clarity, there are particular guidelines that could be considered when providing care as a Good Samaritan or as a participant in mutual aid. These include:

• Do not provide any health care or nursing services outside the scope of your practice.
• Always use common sense combined along with your skilled knowledge when providing care.
• In each cases, please make sure that paramedics are called if essential as a result of an injury or medical condition.
• Never accept any gifts in return for care provided.
• Provide rescuers with essential information regarding your care.
• Provide care in good faith.
• Familiarize yourself with the Good Samaritan laws in your state.

To learn more, take these courses:

Nurses have a responsibility to remain current on current issues related to the regulation of nursing practice not only of their states but additionally nationwide. Nurses have a responsibility to their patients to practice in a protected, competent, and responsible manner. This requires licensed nurses to practice in accordance with state statutes and regulations. This course provides information on nursing practice laws and their impact on nursing practice.

This course provides an summary of bioethics because it pertains to health care and nursing within the United States. The course explains the weather of ethical decision-making as they relate to patient care and ethics committees. The course concludes with a discussion of the moral challenges related to physician-assisted suicide, organ transplantation, and genetic testing.