During an emergency, the first aider can become involved in a variety of legal problems. You must however not be scared to treat someone because of the law.

The law will protect you from liability as long as you:

• Act in good faith
• Are neither reckless nor negligent
• Act as a prudent person would.

You must not abandon a victim once you have initiated care, and you cannot accept anything in return for your services.

There are certain aspects that need to be discussed.

Permission (Consent)

No person may be touched without first giving his or her permission. Any person, who is touched or handled without permission, is considered to have been assaulted. This permission can be informed, implied or emergency (life threatening emergencies). It also must be remembered a patient may refuse you the right to treat them.

Scope of practice

A FA may only treat a patient up to the level that he / she has been trained to. The FA certificate expires after 3 years, thus either a refresher needs to be done or a higher level.

Documentation

The best way for a first aider to protect himself or herself against legal problems is good clinical documentation. Although the first aider is responsible for writing up detailed and sensible notes, there are no strict rules in this regard.