I am not an Attorney-at-Law. I am not qualified to interpret the law or to
give legal advice. Furthermore, I speak ONLY of Texas.
If you are on duty as a medical person you must follow the medical
protocols established as federal and state standards for your position and
situation. If you are off duty, the only law I have found applicable to Texas
and rendering aid is in the:
Transportation Code
Chapter 550. Accidents and Accident Reports
Subchapter B. Duties Following Accident
Paragraph 5650.023. Duty to give information and render aid
(Quote)
The operator of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the injury or
death of a person or damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended by a
person shall:
(1) give the operator’s name and address, the registration number of the
vehicle the operator was driving, and the name of the operator’s motor
vehicle liability insurer to any person injured or the operator or occupant of
or person attending a vehicle involved in the collision;
(2) if requested and available, show the operator’s driver’s license to a
person described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) provide any person injured in the accident reasonable assistance,
including transporting or making arrangements for transporting the person
to a physician or hospital for medical treatment if it is apparent that
treatment is necessary, or if the injured person request the transportation.
(Unquote)
As far as I can determine, as a legal layperson, “... making arrangements
for transporting...” can mean calling 9-1-1. Therefore, if I am off-duty, I
can satisfy all legal requirements by making arrangements for transporting
the patient.
As an additional point of contention, even if I *cause* the accident, if I am
the only able-bodied person at the scene, I can leave the scene of the
accident to get help (rather than render first aid) and be in full compliance
with the law so long as I do not delay reporting my involvement in the
accident. (In other words, I’d explain it all to the 9-1-1 operator.)
If someone in Texas can find a reference to “leaving the scene of an
accident”, please advise. I don’t believe it exists.
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If I shoot someone in my home, I will call 9-1-1 and not touch the intruder
or make an attempt to physically render aid to the intruder. My job is to
keep myself and my family safe until law enforcement arrives.
In EVERY medical emergency, the first and foremost question is scene
safety. It does NO good to try to become a hero, rush into an auto accident
scene, and have all of us killed by a speeding Peterbuilt!
Secure the scene so it doesn’t get worse, then evaluate what action must be taken.
Do you need HAZ MAT personnel, fire department, how many ambulances,
etc. etc.? Rushing instinctively into emergencies gets more people injured,
maimed, and killed. Dead heroes don’t save people and somebody
tomorrow might need your help every bit as much as these poor people in
front of you at the moment.
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The term “certified” has two distinct meanings.
1) This evening I certified two ladies in First Aid. Tomorrow I will certify
five students in CPR. The ONLY thing I am certifying is that these students
successfully completed the academic and/or practical requirements of the
course. Such certifications provide no warranty or guarantee of future
performance or proficiency.
2) Certifications issued by a “certifying agency” indicate proficiency and
capability above the layman level. EMTs, RMT, LVNs, RNs, Doctors of every
kind, and a host of “certified”, “registered”, and/or “licensed” professionals
are expected to perform at a level commensurate with their certification.
However, as I stated above, in Texas nobody has a “duty to act” by
rendering first aid, if they are off-duty. That is true even for doctors.
Rumors and misinformation abound and the following is another such
rumor. I am told only the state of Vermont required off-duty healthcare
personnel to render first aid (or better) at the scene of an accident. That
was taken from a National Safety Council pamphlet but I have no legal
source to prove/disprove that comment. Can anyone please provide such a
source?
Before rendering opinions otherwise, please quote “chapter and verse” of
any law which requires otherwise. I don’t think it can be done. I stand
ready to be proven wrong.
Please remember my disclaimer. I am not an Attorney-at-Law. See an
Attorney for advice you can rely upon.
[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited December 16, 1999).]