[Peggy D]

Originally Posted by ssmith

...if this pt was breathing they would not do CPR but....they were instructed by 911 to start CPR so at some point the patient did stop breathing etc and possibley had no pulse. I agree we probably don't know the whole story. Why would the family be happy with her care? Did they mean before the incident? Had the patient on many occasions said that she wanted to die? or have a debilitating disease? or state that she wanted no life saving measures at all? There are many questions we do not know. Also the facility at first said the employee acted correctly and now they have issued a different statement hmmmm wonder if this new statement was after the publicity occurred and they contacted their lawyers or their publicity consultant.

Also about the Good Sam law, I was instructed that a professional could be sued by anyone andnot although the professional may win the suit ....then there is the cost (off work etc) and time and stress of the suit. Also when we did CPR training....we were told that if you are a civilian (saw away from work) and kept on walkng and din't stop then, notyou were liable but....if you stop or identify yourself as a professional or trained in CPR, then you were obligated to perform it. Personally, I could not walk by. Which brings up the whole question about those areas in the villages where the neighbors went ahead and got a Defibrilator and got trained in CPR...now are they obligated? or liable for a lawsuit....not sure? It is such a sad thing to think about esp when some people are sue happy.

Also performing the Heimlich for a choking person is different than CPR.

Think about it, who is going to sue you for performing CPR? The patient whose life you just saved or if the CPR did not result in a good outcome?
Medical professionals take BLS CPR or are trained ACLS. The lawsuit issue arises when training civilians--just to let them know they won't be sued.
Use of an AED lawsuit? Again, who is going to sue you for making an effort to save a life? But I think you hit on something. This person went down in the dining room and had difficulty breathing. Who's to say she didn't have an occluded airway when the Heimich should have been performed not CPR?