EMD Legal and Liability Issues 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which legal doctrine protects EMDs in most US states when they follow established protocols in good faith?
- Respondeat superior
- Good Samaritan statutes (Correct answer)
- Sovereign immunity
- Assumption of risk
Correct answer: Good Samaritan statutes
Good Samaritan statutes in most states extend liability protection to EMDs who follow approved dispatch protocols in good faith.
Question 2: An EMD fails to ask a caller about the patient's breathing status, and the patient dies. This could constitute which type of liability?
- Intentional tort
- Negligence (Correct answer)
- Strict liability
- Vicarious liability
Correct answer: Negligence
Failing to follow protocol steps such as assessing breathing constitutes negligence because it breaches the duty of care owed to the caller.
Question 3: What is the legal term for the obligation an EMD has to provide appropriate emergency dispatch services to callers?
- Duty to act (Correct answer)
- Standard of care
- Scope of practice
- Proximate cause
Correct answer: Duty to act
Duty to act is the legal obligation that requires an EMD to respond appropriately once they accept a call for emergency services.
Question 4: A dispatcher sends the wrong resource level and the patient's condition worsens. Which element of negligence does this most directly establish?
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation (Correct answer)
- Damages
Correct answer: Causation
Causation links the dispatcher's breach of protocol to the patient's worsened condition, establishing that the breach directly caused harm.
Question 5: Under HIPAA, which of the following is permissible without patient authorization when transferring a call to a receiving hospital?
- Disclosing patient's insurance information
- Sharing PHI for treatment coordination purposes (Correct answer)
- Releasing patient records to the media
- Sending patient history to employer
Correct answer: Sharing PHI for treatment coordination purposes
HIPAA's treatment exception permits sharing protected health information with other healthcare providers for the purpose of coordinating treatment.
Question 6: Which action best protects an EMD center from liability related to call documentation?
- Deleting recordings after 24 hours to save storage
- Maintaining detailed, accurate, and timely call records (Correct answer)
- Allowing only supervisors to document calls
- Summarizing calls verbally to avoid written records
Correct answer: Maintaining detailed, accurate, and timely call records
Accurate and timely documentation provides a factual record of events and demonstrates adherence to protocol, which is the primary defense against liability claims.
Question 7: An EMD who intentionally provides false medical instructions to a caller would likely face which type of legal action beyond negligence?
- Strict product liability
- Intentional tort or criminal charges (Correct answer)
- Vicarious liability only
- Administrative sanction only
Correct answer: Intentional tort or criminal charges
Deliberate provision of harmful false instructions constitutes an intentional tort and may rise to criminal conduct, going beyond simple negligence.