We all know that the people in the United States can be sue-happy; in other words, anyone can sue for almost anything. During an emergency, it is no different. There will be on the spot decisions to be made and they will not always be favorable to the involving parties. Lawsuits will always pop up out of nowhere which is why it is important to have Legal Counsel in Emergency Management.
As with anything else, you must always, always cover your butt. Not covering it properly (by legal standards) can present issues of liability due to negligence. During emergency management, negligence “…usually arises from the failure to perform (or unreasonably bad performance of) specific governmental duties…they may include failure to adhere to a plan, executive level decision making (poor choices, poor planning, bad emergency response), or an Incident Commander’s lack of wisdom… or failure to comply with a legal duty, such as OSHA law…” (Nicholson & Esquire, pg. 393).
To help prevent lawsuits, an attorney should be present during emergency management. Nicholson and Esquire talk about litigation ...
An effective way to mitigate the risk to in-house counsel is to retain outside counsel to deal with subpoenas and investigations, and work with in-house counsel on responses to formal and even some informal governme...
Paralegals are continuing to assume new responsibilities in legal offices and perform many of the same duties as attorneys. Through formal education, training and experience, paralegals have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and law procedures, which qualify them to work under the supervision of an attorney. Along with preparing legal documents, contracts and other legal materials, a paralegal can also interview witnesses, and conducting legal research. The most important task a paralegal may have is helping an attorney prepare for hearings, trials, and meetings. Although a paralegal is trained to perform the same tasks as attorneys, they are explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties considered to be within the scope of the practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, submitting signed documents to court, and presenting cases in court. Paralegals are an essential part of today’s legal practice; furthermore, a competent paralegal can improve a law office’s profitability and the delivery of legal services. With these new responsibilities comes a higher level of demand and respect. In turn...
It is unfortunate that accidents that result in injuries are a part of life. Further more it is also unfortunate that often the party responsible for said accident do not feel compelled to offer compensation to the party affected. However in spite of this, there is still hope for the injured party thanks to personal injury lawyers. They are tasked with representing their clients who suffered from these events while making sure that their clients receive the compensation that they deserve. Ultimately personal injury lawyers play a big role with regards to safety initiatives by helping those injured, which is something that we all should aspire to do.
Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2014). The disciplines of emergency management: Preparedness. Introduction to emergency management (Fifth ed., ). Waltham: Elsevier.
Gaining a better understanding of what exactly my hospital is dealing with will determine the appropriate course of action. Did the explosion send poisonous chemicals into the air or are the patients simply having a reaction from smoke? As the incident commander on duty it is my responsibility to implement the three key strategies of disaster response; protect and preserve life, stabilize the disaster scene, and protect and preserve property. I will also begin implementation of the hospital’s emergency operation plan. Although I have not yet established the cause of illness in the patients, it is important to treat the incident as a potential mass disaster situation. I will proceed with implementing the “3 C’s” of incident leadership; coordination, communication, and cooperation (Reilly & Markenson, 2011). Effective management of this crisis weighs heavily on my ability to coordinate, communicate, and cooperate not only
Emergency Management has always been an important role in government, communities, and some organizations when dealing with planning and response to emergencies and disasters. However, since the September 11th attacks and other terrorist attacks on United States soil such as the Oklahoma City bombing, or the Boston terror attack, emergency management now has a more active and upfront role. Planning for terrorist attacks is no longer if but when.
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
Varone, J. C. (2012). The 'Anatomy of a 'Anatomy of a 'Anatomy of a 'Anatomy of a 'Anatomy of a ' Legal considerations for fire & emergency services (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Inc.
Many of us imagine how amazing life will be living happily ever after,’-however, for many, love can be extremely dangerous. Many relationships deal with abuse such as physical violence, sexual abuse, verbal assault and manipulation. It is important to protect those who may be victims of domestic violence, and to understand, and support them. Domestic Violence can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation. The Justice System is not effective in supporting victims of Domestic violence. The law currently only provides support to victims after they have endured abuse. The Intervention Order Act will provide support for victims to escape abuse before experiencing conflict. The judicial system needs to expand to allow one
I believe that if you asked a group of people to list off issues regarding an emergency department then they would say long wait times throughout the process and being moved around to different areas of the emergency department. From what I have heard the long waits can be associated with waiting to get back to a room, waiting to see a nurse, waiting to see a doctor, waiting to go to radiology or lab, waiting on results, waiting to be discharged, or waiting to be admitted. All of these things in my opinion add up to one main problem, which is patient flow through an emergency department. In my opinion being able to have a controlled patient flow allows for improved wait times and decreased chaos for patients. So there are a few things
Nevertheless, emergency planning is crucial to ensure survival during
There is a strict distinction between acts and omissions in tort of negligence. “A person is often not bound to take positive action unless they have agreed to do so, and have been paid for doing so.” (Cane.2009; 73) The rule is a settled one and allows some exceptions only in extreme circumstances. The core idea can be summarized in “why pick on me” argument. This attitude was spectacularly demonstrated in a notoriously known psychological experiment “The Bystander effect” (Latané & Darley. 1968; 377-383). Through practical scenarios, psychologists have found that bystanders are more reluctant to intervene in emergency situations as the size of the group increases. Such acts of omission are hardly justifiable in moral sense, but find some legal support. “A man is entitled to be as negligent as he pleases towards the whole world if he owes no duty to them.” (L Esher Lievre v Gould [1893] 1 Q.B. 497) Definitely, when there is no sufficient proximity between the parties, a legal duty to take care cannot be lawfully exonerated and imposed, as illustrated in Palmer v Tees Health Authority [1999] All ER (D) 722). If it could, individuals would have been in the permanent state of over- responsibility for others, neglecting their own needs. Policy considerations in omission cases are not inspired by the parable of Good Samaritan ideas. Judges do favour individualism as it “permits the avoidance of vulnerability and requires self-sufficiency. “ (Hoffmaster.2006; 36)
The purpose of this paper is to discuss potential disasters that could affect a community and cause mass causalities. Further discussion will include who is responsible for the management preparedness, what barriers must be considered and finally this paper will discuss the health care facilities role in emergency supplies and care of the patient in a disaster situation.
Emergency management is often described in terms of “phases,” using terms such as mitigate, prepare, respond and recover. The main purpose of this assignment is to examine the origins, underlying concepts, variations, limitations, and implications of the “phases of emergency management.” In this paper we will look at definitions and descriptions of each phase or component of emergency management, the importance of understanding interrelationships and responsibilities for each phase, some newer language and associated concepts (e.g., disaster resistance, sustainability, resilience, business continuity, risk management), and the diversity of research perspectives.
The increase in unpredictable natural disasters events for a decade has led to put the disaster preparedness as a central issue in disaster management. Disaster preparedness reduces the risk of loss lives and injuries and increases a capacity for coping when hazard occurs. Considering the value of the preparatory behavior, governments, local, national and international institutions and non-government organizations made some efforts in promoting disaster preparedness. However, although a number of resources have been expended in an effort to promote behavioural preparedness, a common finding in research on natural disaster is that people fail to take preparation for such disaster events (Paton, 2005; Shaw 2004; Spittal, et.al, 2005; Tierney, 1993; Kenny, 2009; Kapucu, 2008; Coppola and Maloney, 2009). For example, the fact that nearly 91% of Americans live in a moderate to high risk of natural disasters, only 16% take a preparation for natural disaster (Ripley, 2006).