In brief
- Ethically speaking, Canadian physicians have an obligation to provide medical care in an emergency. Legally, they generally do not have a duty to assist, except in Québec.
- The likelihood of a physician being successfully sued for providing good Samaritan care is extremely low. CMPA encourages its members to assist when emergency care is needed.
- The care that physicians can provide in an emergency may be far different from what is expected of them under normal circumstances and is more basic than what can be provided in an office, clinic or hospital. Physicians should treat individuals requiring care with the goal of preventing prolonged suffering and addressing imminent threats to life, limb, or health.
It is second nature for physicians to help someone who is sick or injured in an emergency, even when off duty. Afterward, physicians may question if they could be liable for the care they provided.
In one instance, a physician responded to a call for help on an international flight when a passenger became short of breath. The physician recommended administering oxygen, but the flight attendant initially refused until consulting the airline’s land-based physician. After the first physician persisted, the attendant administered oxygen, and the passenger stabilized. Following the incident, the physician contacted CMPA with questions about potential liability in situations like this.
Understanding the medico-legal risks of good Samaritan assistance can help ease physicians’ minds when stepping in to offer care in urgent situations.
What are the obligations and risks?
Ethical obligations
Various medical professional bodies have created codes of ethics that make it an ethical obligation for Canadian physicians to provide emergency medical services to individuals in need. The medical regulatory authorities (Colleges) generally view physicians as having an ethical duty to do their best to attend to individuals in need of urgent care.
In emergency situations, this obligation is to prevent prolonged suffering and address imminent threats to life, limb, or health, using the resources available at the time, which may result in more basic care than what is able to be provided in a medical setting. Once emergency services arrive and care has been transferred to emergency responders, physicians can generally leave the scene.
Legal obligations and protection
Emergencies can happen anywhere – in Canada, abroad, or in international airspace or waters – and each jurisdiction may have different legal expectations.
In Canada, most jurisdictions do not impose a legal duty or obligation on physicians to provide emergency medical care. Québec is the exception: its Charter of human rights and freedoms requires physicians to help a person in a life-threatening emergency.
All provinces and territories have legislation that protects physicians who voluntarily assist at the scene of an accident or emergency. Courts are unlikely to fault a physician who provides urgent assistance in good faith. CMPA is not aware of any legal proceedings alleging negligence in providing Good Samaritan emergency care.
What about CMPA protection?
When CMPA members provide emergency care as good Samaritans, they are generally eligible for CMPA assistance – whether the incident occurs in Canada, abroad, or in international air space or waters, and whether the person receiving care is a resident or non-resident of Canada. Retired physicians who were previously CMPA members and who act as good Samaritans are also eligible and do not need to keep an active membership for CMPA assistance. As a former CMPA member, you remain eligible for assistance.
How does CMPA define good Samaritan care?
In determining eligibility for assistance, CMPA considers good Samaritan care to be situations where a member offers, or is being asked to provide, urgent medical care to someone in need when no other immediate help is available (for example, aiding a sick or injured person at the scene of a motor vehicle collision or during a domestic or international flight). This medical assistance is provided until more definitive care can be mobilized.
In emergency situations, members should focus on providing the best care they can in the moment, confident that their good-faith efforts are enough.
Document the encounter. As soon as possible afterward, physicians should document the encounter in their own records. The documentation provides a record of the medical reasoning and the steps taken, supports any follow-up investigations and care, and serves as a helpful reference if questions arise later.
Additional reading
