Litigation rules ok ... ?!

[Steve Bond]

I'm reminded of the old joke ... "what do you call 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? ... a good start!!"

However, seriously ... I spoke with my GP recently (nothing to worry about ... honestly) and she told me current advice from medical profession associations and their insurers is that off-duty doctors and nurses should never stop at the scene of an accident or other public scenario where a person is in distress!! Why? ... because if the person suffers complications or dies the doctor/nurse could face litigation with a view to being sued for malpractice!!

Mad or what ...?

Isn't it time we grabbed the lawyers by the balls to get their hearts and minds to follow!

 

[Happy2]

Lawyers
There was a article a few years back regarding Dana Hayes the porn Actress She is a lady with a wide resume I mean an award winning choreographer for example
The article stated she is now on hard times due to a car accident which was said not to be her fault
The defence lawyers showed a Dana Hayes film with the judges permission to the jurors and tore into her.
The defendant did not even appear in court Not early stages anyway But the jury already swayed by the film found against Hayes
A good lawyer(oxymoron?) will always triumph over innocence

 

[Fudd]

...Isn't it time we grabbed the lawyers by the balls to get their hearts and minds to follow!

Steve, your GP should be aware that the amended Civil Liability Act (2002) makes provisions to protect "Good Samaritans" whether of not they are qualified medical practitioners in cases of medical emergencies. There are conditions attached to these amendments so it should not be inferred that a good samaritan will automatically be protected/covered from any civil action.

 

[Steve Bond]

I can only reiterate ... I believe this is current advice and may be formal or informal. As you say, "there are conditions attached" to the legislation. I recently attended a St John's first aid course and was shocked by the revised admin procedures recommended ahead of administering first aid! We've lost sight of being good samaritans because of potential reprisals and litigation. We are a poorer society as a result.

 

[billybones]

As a First Aider for my work I was once told by those conducting the first aid course we had to do that should I ever come across an accident and stop to help, then don`t stop giving the first aid until told to by a medical attendant because if we stopped and the patient got worse then we would be liable.

 

[bushbabe]

Hows this for stupidity......

Speaking to a policeman friend of mine the other day about the bushfires in the Northwest. The police are not allowed within a "fire zone" even when the fire is miles away. So I said..... I'm in the fire zone and your outside.... I give you the finger, abuse you, grab a bottle of Jacks and scull it, hop in my car and without a seatbelt drive within the fire zone....... and you can't pursue me?????? His reply.... CORRECT ........ So don't rely on a policeman during a fire, look for a volunteer...... the world is going nuts.

 

[ecchimiki]

It's like the case I heard on radio the other day where there was a guy bleeding, quite severely, on the sidewalk after an accident, and a random passerby had stopped to help, dove in to help reduce the bleeding, etc.

The cops roll up but refuse to assist... Because they don't have gloves to protect themselves against HIV, etc.

In the end, the guy who was already blood-covered from saving the guy had to continue trying to keep him alive until the ambos arrived.

So do they even bother at all to teach them first aid, given that they won't go near anyone having problems? I assume if they use a taser on someone, and that guy them has a heart attack or similar, they just let him suffer or die if the ambo doesn't arrive in time.

Mad times indeed...