Chapter 26 - Medicolegal Considerations in Mass Gathering Medicine

Summary

Lawsuits for medical negligence and personal injury are a fact of life in the health care profession. Participation as a clinician at a mass gathering event, whether as an independently paid clinician, as an employee of a medical group, as an operational medical director or as simply a volunteer all create liability risks. Liability risks decrease the further the provider is removed from direct care of the patient, and in certain situations (e.g., volunteer Good Samaritan, Operational Medical Director) the risks of individual liability are quite low or may be obviated by statutory immunities. That fact notwithstanding it is incumbent upon providers to act reasonably and to be sure to comply with standard risk management practices such as thorough, contemporaneous documentation, obtaining consent when reasonable, and respecting patient privacy as required by HIPAA. Finally, since exercising all reasonable risk management efforts cannot always prevent a lawsuit, liability insurance protection is critical, to cover providers both from lawsuits over direct care and lawsuits over administrative decision-making. Even with a spurious case there are significant legal costs and expenses.