Good advice for all hikers.

[shakey_snake]

Well, if I ever get bit by one, I'm ****ed. :P

[lemon b]

Having a good understanding of field first aid is just good common sense.

[OCDave]

Having a good understanding of field first aid is just good common sense.

Occasionally, I find common sense to be not as common as one might expect.

[rafe]

While it's true, most non-emergencies in the back country can be taken care of with duct tape and Motrin, the huge benefit of emergency medical training (the higher the level the better) is in recognizing when evacuation is needed, then being able to make a reasonable judgement as to how that should be accomplished.

For what it's worth... as a volunteer ski patroller for a number of years (long ago) I went through the necessary first aid and CPR training, etc. Not sure if this is a universal rule or if it's still practiced, but we were not permitted to administer any pain relieving drugs at all, not even aspirin. Knock wood, I haven't found much use for it on the trail, and I'm not complaining about that.

[Old Hiker]

I can give you one good reason to get some kinf of First Aid certification. The Good Samaritan Law basically covers you in case you should offer first aid and accidentally injure them, like cracking a rib during CPR. The thing is, the law is different from state to state. Here in Alabama you must have a certification in order to be protected by the Good Samaritan Law.

So I see someone dying from a heart attack or choking. I don't have any kind of cert. I just stand there and let the person die for fear of a lawsuit? Yikes ! Not sure I could do that, even though I have certs for various things.

Not doubting your word, but that seems SO wrong.

[Traveler]

So I see someone dying from a heart attack or choking. I don't have any kind of cert. I just stand there and let the person die for fear of a lawsuit? Yikes ! Not sure I could do that, even though I have certs for various things.

Not doubting your word, but that seems SO wrong.

This is a law suit prevention law. Very few people who are successfully revived will ever sue their rescuers and only a very, very small percentage of surviving family members will do that. The Good Samaritan law offers protection from suits, though the law had to have a basic standard and used the basic first aid level from the ARC. That doesn't stop most people who find themselves in a position to help someone who don't have any certifications. Unless the Red Cross has changed, basic and advanced first aid certificates don't expire.

[Lyle]

I've been a licensed EMS Instructor/Coordinator in Michigan since 1985, a certified First Aid/CPR Instructor for even longer. The original intent of "Good Samaritan" laws was to protect physicians who feared being held to the same "Standard of Care" if they stopped on the side of the road to offer assistance as they would be held if providing care in an Emergency Department or their medical office.

Most "Good Samaritan" laws are worded similar to this: One can provide a "good faith" effort to assist the patient, without going beyond the scope of their training. Though originally intended for physicians, most state courts have expanded the interpretation to include any good Samaritan, of any level of training (or none). What this generally means is that an EMT cannot perform a field Tracheotomy to relieve an obstructed airway since it is beyond their scope of training, a paramedic or Surgeon can perform it since it is within their scope of training. Anyone who has received CPR training, and who, in good faith, performs CPR is protected. In fact, today most 911 dispatch centers provide the "training" on the spot and over the phone.

Aside from any Good Samaritan Laws and whether they apply or not, virtually every attorney I've spoken to has agreed that they would much rather defend a person who provided a "good faith" attempt to assist, then they would to defend a person who could have and should have assisted and didn't make any attempt.

The key is to not go beyond your level of training. Direct pressure is non-invasive and taught in many settings as a way to control bleeding, suturing is invasive and only a limited number of people have been adequately trained to provide this assistance. Pretty much, as long as the intent is to help, and you use common sense, aiding a person in need is usually protected. If not in actual law, in the court interpretations of the law. The standard that the courts use is generally: What would a person with similar training and similar equipment do to help in the same situation?

[Lyle]

For what it's worth... as a volunteer ski patroller for a number of years (long ago) I went through the necessary first aid and CPR training, etc. Not sure if this is a universal rule or if it's still practiced, but we were not permitted to administer any pain relieving drugs at all, not even aspirin. Knock wood, I haven't found much use for it on the trail, and I'm not complaining about that.

The legal way around this (actually written into EMS protocols for many years as it pertains to Nitroglycerine tablets for chest pain) is that you can "assist" the patient in self-administering the medication. We sometimes do silly things to get around equally silly laws and situations.