Good Samaritan Law After Credentials Expired

[ScottCurry]

My emergency responder credentials expired quite some time ago. I working towards EMR since it's basically the same as EMT, but without the continuing education requirements, but i still have to take some classes and pass my test.

Despite not being credentialed, I still find myself coming upon disaster scenes (car wrecks mostly) before first responders arrive. I've used the equipment on me to direct traffic, stabilize vehicles, do head to toe assessments, and report details to 911 or the OEM/EOC. But I'm hesitant to provide aid to victims, because I don't want to get sued (although I did perform CPR on one person, because I can't just stand there when someone's dying).

All of that said, how long after your credentials expire would the Good Samaritan Law protect you?

 

[Warren Faidley]

You would need to check your state laws but I believe Good Samaritan laws apply to the general public when rendering aid. EMT's and similar first responders are also covered locally or in other states when off duty, but there are some areas with complex laws regarding duty to act / assisting -- mostly in your licensed region.

 

[Randy Jennings]

You might want to check out this site: Good Samaritan Laws by state it lists the laws by state and even color codes parts of them to flag unusual and concerning language. @ScottCurry it looks like you have nothing to worry about in CO, although this reference is from 2014 and it is possible laws could have changed since then and you should probably verify. I will note that in other states the story is different. The Oklahoma statue is probably the strangest Good Samaritan law in the country.

 

[Pj Heckman]

Late reply - but echoing some of the above: If you are currently licensed, obviously they would not apply. It gets murky if say you are licensed in Colorado but trying to help in Oklahoma and you are not licensed or National Registry.

Most are inherently established to protect the wayside individual. Should you try to *medically help* outside of your state, I wouldn’t advise anyone that shows up that you are and not to do anything outside the scope of training (past or present).

Anyone (essentially) can do CPR or basic Boy Scout first aid..but anything advanced such as the USDOT EMR and EMT upwards will be murky.

If it’s anything life threating, you are going to do what is needed and I’m going to doubt anyone will complain. Just don’t try to do anything invasive or with medications/narcotics.

At the least carry quality gloves and a mask/CPR barrier.