The first rule is do no harm.
Almost all first aid training and higher levels of skill preach no to
move a injured person if there is an alternative and not to lift or carry
without a stretcher. While we
could drag a person on a tarp or in a coat across a floor or a paved highway to
remove them from immediate danger you would not want to do so for miles of
unimproved horse trail. Putting a
person erect in the saddle without being able to definitively clear the entire
spine is asking for trouble. You
can improvise a litter from branches and cloth or rope if necessary but the
extrication team should have the proper equipment to move the patient. This may be a back packable Stokes, a
long or short backboard, CID, and splints.
We must distinguish here between a professional search operation
extricating a subject or searcher and a group of riders self helping or self
rescuing themselves. In the
first case the proper skills, certifications, and equipment should be available
promptly. In the second case
there are no skills, no equipment, and the closest response may be hours or
days away, thus you are allowed to be ignorant.
The liability issue is moot in either case. If you do what you were trained to do in the
manner you were trained to do it and did not exceed your scope of practice you
are generally immune from damages. You
are not immune from being served.
If you attempted an extrication where the urgency you perceived required you to
move the patient before proper equipment arrived or where proper equipment was
not available when it is foreseen to be needed then you are in big trouble. The reason many doctors don’t go into
the field is that they are held to a higher performance level, and are expected
to operate in the field like they had a full hospital with them. Many states now prohibit doctors or nurses from
organized emergency response unless they have had some training in field
operations.
The real liability issue arises during training or
evaluation activities. Since
these activities are planned the possibility of injury should be foreseen and
provided for.
Just having first aid kits is not enough. There should be a plan beyond calling 9-1-1. The plan may include calling 9-1-1 but it
should also include at least basic life support.
If the event is off the road but accessible by ambulance the local dispatch
center should be notified in writing before hand with a map and access
directions. If not accessible by
wheeled vehicle a carry out point or a helispot should be determined and proper
equipment deployed, and again a map prepared.
Irv Lichtenstein
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]
On Behalf Of Jorene Downs
Sent: Friday, July 03, 2009 7:46
PM
To: 'Mounted
search and rescue'
Subject: Re: [MSAR] MSAR-Riders
Digest, Vol 77, Issue 3
