Legal Issues Surrounding First Aid Essay Research

Legal Issues Surrounding First Aid Essay, Research Paper

First aid is the initial care given to a sick or injured person before more formal medical

assistance is applied. The goal of first aid is to intervene actively to prevent further

damage, to provide life support, and to begin effective treatment of the victim’s

condition, to minimize injury and prevent death. Although first aid is not a substitute for

medical care, those trained in first aid are able to assess the nature and the extent of an

emergency and determine the best course of action to take until professional medical

help arrives.

The need for training in first aid is evident, considering that injury is the fourth leading

cause of death. Falls are the most common cause of injury, but motor vehicle accidents

are the most lethal, accounting for 22 percent of injury deaths.

An important thing to know when dealing with a first aid situation is to be up to date as

far as procedures are concerned. Procedures like slapping a choking person on the back,

putting iodine on a wound, cutting an X on a snake bite, putting ointment on burns, or

using a tourniquet to stop bleeding are old, out dated procedures and have been replaced

by new ones from the Red Cross association. If you decide to administer first aid, be sure

you are familiar with current procedures.

First aid begins with a scene survey. Before approaching a victim, a survey of the area

is necessary to determine if conditions surrounding the incident may place the victim and

the rescuer in danger. Next, the primary survey will determine if lifesaving procedures

must be immediately performed to save the victim’s life. The primary survey involves

checking the ABC’s: A: Is the airway opened and the victim’s neck stabilized. B: Is the

patient breathing. C: Is the victim’s blood circulating. Is there a pulse. Or is there

active bleeding.

Lifesaving procedures include cardiopulmonary resuscitation , which may be needed to

provide basic life support when a victim has no pulse and is not breathing. The Heimlich

maneuver aids choking victims by forcing ejection of obstructing material from the

windpipe. The severity of spinal cord injuries has decreased 30-45 percent due to

awareness that the neck must be stabilized before moving the accident victim. External

bleeding is controlled by direct pressure and elevation of the bleeding site.

The secondary survey is a total body examination, a pulse check, respiration count, and

observation of skin conditions. The only outward sign of severe medical problems, such

as cardiac diseases, stroke, or internal bleeding, may be shock. Those in shock will have

pale, cool, and clammy skin, a rapid and weak pulse, more than 20 respirations per

minute, weakness, and confused behavior. Treatment involves minimizing body heat

loss, elevating the legs without disturbing the rest of the body, and getting help as quickly

as possible.

No one is required to render first aid under normal circumstances. Even a physician

could ignore a stranger suffering a heart attack if he chose to do so. Exceptions include

situations where a person’s employment designates the rendering of first aid as a part of

described job duties. Examples include lifeguards, law enforcement officers, park

rangers and safety officers in industry. A duty to provide first aid also exists where an

individual has presumed responsibility for another person’s safety, as in the case of a

parent-child or a driver-passenger relationship. While in most cases there is no legal

responsibility to provide first aid care to another person, there is a very clear

responsibility to continue care once you start. You cannot start first aid and then stop

unless the victim no longer needs your attention, other first aiders take over the

responsibility from you or you are physically unable to continue care.

In every instance where first aid is to be provided, the victim’s consent is required. It

should be obtained from every conscious, mentally-competent adult. The consent may be

either oral or written. Permission to render first aid to an unconscious victim is implied

and a first aider should not hesitate to treat an unconscious victim. Consent of a parent

or guardian is required to treat a child, however emergency first aid necessary to maintain

life may be provided without such consent.

Some well-meaning people hesitate to perform first aid because they are concerned

about being sued. Legislators in almost every state in the country have passed Good

Samaritan Laws which are intended to protect good people who offer first aid help to

others. Most of the Good Samaritan Acts are very similar in their content and usually

provide two basic requirements which must be met in order for the first aider to be

protected by their provisions: the first aider must not deliberately cause harm to the

victim and the first aider must provide the

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