Credits Hours: 1.00

Course Description:
The responsibility of providing emergency care includes legal as well as professional obligations to the patient. Emergency medical personnel often are faced with situations involving legal and ethical problems. This course discusses various aspects of the law and how laws apply to everyday situations faced by EMS professionals.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe the major components of the legal system and make a distinction between civil and criminal law components.
• Identify the components of a claim of medical negligence.
• Differentiate between informed, expressed, implied, and involuntary consent, given an example.
• Identify actions that put the EMT at risk for malpractice litigation, given a description of patient assessment and emergent care.