Wilderness First Response Resources

Legal Considerations


Negligence

A civil negligence suit requires three conditions to be met: Duty to Act, Breach of Duty, and Injury Caused by Breach.

Duty to Act

In most states you are required to assist an injured person if you have a prior relationship with that person. This includes if they are a participant in a program for which you are an employee or volunteer where providing medical care is part or all of your duty.

The standard of care you are expected to provide depends on the level of training you have received.

Breach of Duty

The law may find you at fault if you do not perform as a reasonable person would with your background and training.

Injury Caused by the Breach

If a breach of duty is the direct or contributing factor to a loss or injury you can be found liable for negligence.


Consent must be obtained before medically treating a patient. Consent includes:

  • Explanation of the reason for concern.
  • Explanation of the assessment and treatment
  • Possible benefits and risks of the treatment

Consent can be obtained by:

  • Requiring consent forms before guided trips in a professional setting.
  • Verbally
  • Implied consent if a patient is unresponsive or unreliable and cannot make decisions about their health.

For minors, consent from a parent or guardian is necessary.

Failure to obtain consent can result in a suit against you for assault and/or battery.

Liability

Standard of Care

The standard of care used in a legal setting to define the expected level of care that an individual would provide in the same circumstances.

Scope of Practice

Scope of practice is the level at which an individual is expected to give care. Those trained in wilderness medicine are not licensed under state or federal law. Wilderness medicine courses enter into a grey area in the law and the practices taught could be considered outside the scope of practice for non-medical professionals. It is important to understand the law in your jurisdiction.

Those with wilderness medicine training should only treat patients in a wilderness setting, which is defined as one hour or more from definitive care. Those trained in wilderness medicine should not use their training in non-wilderness settings.

Negligence

The most likely suit resulting from malpractice of wilderness medicine is a civil negligence claim, which is private wrong to an individual or their property caused by the negligence of another party. A negligence suit requires four conditions to be met:

  1. There was a duty of care owed by the organization and it's guides, volunteers, or participants.
  2. There was a breach of duty by the organization.
  3. The breach of duty was the direct cause of the damages.
  4. The participant did, in fact, suffer damages.

Abandonment

Once an individual begins medical care they can be found liable for abandonment if they do not remain with that person until delivery to definitive care. An individual giving care in the field must transfer care to an equal or higher qualified medically trained professional. There may be cases when an individual giving treatment must leave an incapacitated patient to get further assistance. This is not considered abandonment if it can be considered reasonable under the circumstances.

Assault and Battery

Assault is an intentional act that puts an individual in reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm. Battery is intentionally harmful bodily contact with an individual. Treating a patient without consent can result in a civil claim of assault and/or battery.

Confidentiality

Any information collected form a patient during any medical treatment should always be considered confidential and should only be shared as is necessary with medical staff and staff in your organization.

Documentation

Documentation is important for avoiding liability, future care of the patient, and improving your organization's response to incidents. Ensure documentation includes facts and decisions based on facts including:

  • Description of site and event
  • The initial patient assessment
  • Medical history
  • Treatments
  • Reassessments
  • The rescue