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Q:I've always thought that physicians were immune from liability when acting as Good Samaritans. But I've recently heard that this isn't always so. Can you explain? A: In a few recent court cases, physicians who helped people in emergencies were found liable for malpractice. While most states encourage Good Samaritan actions by limiting physicians' liability, protections aren't always ironclad. First, some background. The usual standard of negligence in a malpractice lawsuit is to fall short of what a reasonable practitioner in the same specialty would have done in similar circumstances. Good Samaritan laws often reduce the standard to gross negligence before the doctor can be held liable. Gross negligence is defined as reckless disregard of the consequences of one=s actions in affecting someone's life. That means an egregious act, such as leaving the patient in far worse condition than when the doctor found him, or initiating first aid but then walking away from the scene before the arrival of emergency medical services. To qualify for Good Samaritan protection, the treatment must be rendered in a true emergency. In a recent Indiana case, an appellate court went even further and ruled that the protection applies only to the treatment of accident victims, not to all emergencies. A physician had been called at home by a neighbor who was having chest pains. The doctor made a house call, examined the patient, and diagnosed pleurisy. He told the patient that pleurisy wasn't serious, prescribed medication, and asked her to call him again if her symptoms didn't improve. The patient's husband called an hour later when his wife was gasping for breath and choking. The physician returned to her house, found the woman in full cardiac arrest, and initiated CPR. The patient never regained consciousness and subsequently died. The court ruled that the doctor should be held to the standard of ordinary negligence. In another Indiana case, a physician took over a breech delivery when the original OB specialist couldn't be located. The parents sued both doctors because of their baby's injuries and deficits. The court held that the doctor who delivered the baby wasn't entitled to Good Samaritan protection. While the breech presentation could be considered an emergency, it didn't qualify the physician for immunity because it wasn't an accident; moreover, it didn't take place outside a hospital, doctor's office, or any other place having necessary medical equipment. On the same basis, volunteering for community service doesn't guarantee immunity from liability, since medical equipment is often available or the situation can't be considered an emergency even if it's an accident. One thing you must not do if you expect protection as a Good Samaritan: ask for or accept payment for your help. If you billed a patient after treatment, you could be held to the standard of ordinary negligence even if the situation had been an accident. Informed-consent conversations are often impossible in emergencies, especially if the patient is unconscious or disoriented. Most state laws allow for that: You aren't required to secure the patient's consent if any delay in treatment would increase the risk to his life or health. But you should document those medical judgments at the earliest possible moment. For the most part, Good Samaritan laws have provided physicians with effective protection. There have been few lawsuits against doctors rendering emergency aid. In most of those, the physician was found not liable. In one New York case, the doctor was stopped in the lobby of his apartment building by the superintendent's wife, who begged him to look at her husband. The doctor took the man=s pulse and heart rate, then called for an ambulance. The superintendent died at the hospital. The widow sued the physician for wrongful death, but a judge dismissed him from the case. The situation was a true emergency, took place outside a hospital, and the doctor didn't seek payment. Lee Johnson has twenty-five years of experience in healthcare law, risk management, claims management, risk malpractice defense litigation and general counsel advice to hospitals and other health care providers. She lectures to physicians, hospitals, bar associations and medical societies; produces internet programs, self-study programs, videos and audiotapes on risk management and the defense of medical malpractice litigation; and writes numerous articles, pamphlets and books on risk management topics. She is a contributor on risk management for Medical Economics magazine. You can learn about her at website. Occ. Med. Central is growing every day. There is so much useful information on the web there is no way we can know nor find it all. That's where you come in. Don't feel limited by our current category list. If you find the item useful, then your colleagues will want to know about it. Click on the "Contribute" button to send us your contribution.  |