Negligence
Breach of duty
Failure to meet a legal responsibility or required standard of care.
Living will
A document stating preferences for future treatment if the person cannot communicate decisions and its conditions apply.
Confidentiality
The duty to protect private information and disclose it only on an appropriate basis.
SIDS
Sudden infant death syndrome: an unexplained infant death after a thorough investigation. EMS should not assign the diagnosis from the scene alone.
Protocol
An approved plan directing how EMS handles a type of situation. Apply it within your authority and seek clarification when needed.
Informed consent
Agreement to care after an understandable explanation of the proposed care, important risks, benefits, and alternatives.
Tort
A civil wrong for which the law may provide a remedy, often money damages.
DNR or do not resuscitate order
A medical order limiting attempted resuscitation under its terms. It does not mean provide no care.
HIPAA
A federal law whose privacy rules protect identifiable health information held by covered entities and their business associates.
Crime scene and evidence preservation
A location potentially connected to a crime, and efforts to avoid unnecessary disturbance of relevant items while meeting patient-care needs.
Standing order
An instruction approved in advance that allows specified actions when its conditions are met.
Competence
A legal concept concerning a person’s ability to make decisions. In the field, focus on assessing decision-making capacity rather than making a court ruling.
Criminal negligence
A degree of negligent conduct that meets a criminal law’s requirements. It is not established merely by an incomplete report.
End-of-life care
Care focused on a person approaching death, including comfort, dignity, communication, and treatment consistent with applicable wishes and orders.
Slander and libel
Commonly, slander is spoken defamation and libel is written or published defamation.
Dependent lividity
Discoloration from blood settling in lower parts of the body after circulation stops.
Medical direction or medical command
Physician oversight and guidance for the EMS system and patient care.
Decision-making capacity
The ability to understand a decision, appreciate how it affects you, weigh options, and communicate a choice. It concerns the particular decision at that time.
Assault and battery
In civil-law usage, assault involves apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact; battery involves the contact itself. Legal definitions vary.
Durable power of attorney for health care
A document naming someone to make health decisions when legally authorized.
EMTALA
A federal law requiring covered hospitals to provide emergency medical screening and, when needed, stabilizing treatment or an appropriate transfer, regardless of ability to pay.
Mandatory reporting
A legal duty to report specified concerns or events. The trigger, recipient, and deadline depend on applicable law.
EMT Code of Ethics
Professional commitments such as patient welfare, honesty, competence, and respect.
Implied consent
An emergency basis for necessary care when a patient cannot give permission and consent can reasonably be presumed. Applicable refusals or orders still matter.
Negligence per se
A doctrine under which violation of a qualifying safety law can establish a negligence element. Other requirements, including causation, still matter.
POLST
Portable medical orders addressing life-sustaining treatment. Names, authorized signers, and recognition vary by state.
Interfacility transfer
Moving a patient from one health facility to another with suitable personnel, equipment, information, and arrangements.
Safe-haven law
A law allowing an infant to be surrendered under specified conditions at designated locations. Age limits, sites, and procedures vary.
Offline medical direction
Physician guidance provided in advance through protocols, training, and other system oversight.
Expressed consent
Permission communicated directly, such as saying yes or clearly agreeing through an action.
Res ipsa loquitur
A rule allowing negligence to be inferred from certain circumstances when legal conditions are met. It is not automatic proof whenever an outcome is poor.
Health care proxy or agent
The person authorized to make health decisions for someone else, or the document appointing that person, depending on usage.
Sovereign or governmental immunity
Legal protection that can limit claims against government bodies or workers. Exceptions and conditions apply.
Contributory negligence
Negligence by an injured person that helped cause the harm. Its legal effect depends on the jurisdiction; refusal alone does not establish it.
Ethical or moral conflict
A situation in which values or responsibilities pull in different directions. Personal disagreement does not remove the duty to treat respectfully.
Minor consent
Rules governing permission for care of a person below the legal age of adulthood. A parent or guardian often gives permission, but exceptions apply.