Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston
You will learn rather quickly if you blow thru a DNR stop sign and get pulled over by Attorney Johnnie Cochran from beyond the grave...serving you a court summons! I believe not honoring a known DNR may jeopardize your Good Samaritan Law protections but as always, stand to be corrected
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I guess - how I perceive the situation: once you declare yourself (or are declared by your neighborhood) to be an official responder and authorized to use that AED machine, you become obligated to honor DNRs. Which means it's your job (even if you're a volunteer) to know whether or not the patient HAS a DNR. If they do, and you ignore it, and use the AED and the person ends up in a coma that sets their family back for months until the patient finally dies, you could be on the hook financially. And legally.
DNRs in the state of Florida are supposed to be honored, as long as they're filled out correctly (and on yellow paper).
I posted (and deleted because I didn't notice this thread was 10 pages long), I'm CPR and AED trained. But I don't know if I'd be able to accept the responsibility of being authorized on any official basis to use those skills.
If I was just a bystander who found someone unresponsive on their lawn, then I might administer CPR and yell for help. Because I wouldn't be under any obligation, as a passerby (a Samaritan) to check for a DNR.
Someone who is authorized to represent themselves as a first responder - is obligated to check, and obligated to honor the DNR if they find one.