Chapter 31 - Legal and regulatory aspects of airway management

Summary

This chapter discusses the medico-legal aspects of airway management issues. To defend a claim of negligent consent, a doctor must be able to demonstrate that a patient was warned of a particular risk or outcome. The competent patient's legal right to refuse medical treatment extends to airway management techniques. Anaesthetists and intensivists should be familiar with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when making decisions on behalf of incapacitated patients. In addition to the natural progress of their illness, patients may suffer harm through accident, negligence or a combination of these factors. For a claim of negligence to succeed, claimants must show that: the defendant owed them a duty of care, the defendant breached that duty of care, and damage occurred as a result. Extreme cases of negligence may be dealt with under criminal law, and where death results could possibly lead to charges of manslaughter.