Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps

Home What is AVMRC? FAQ JOIN US SERVPA GET READY Video GET READY 2 Video

Legal Issues

Who is liable if I am injured or hurt while serving as an AVMRC volunteer?

Liability protection standards require volunteer-based organizations to train their volunteers in accordance with all policies and procedures, particularly those intended to reduce the incidence of harm. Different localities are subject to different legal liability laws and standards. All volunteer organizations want to protect their volunteers; liability protection for volunteers is an advocacy issue and a reasonable concern for many AVMRC units.

Liability also is a highly complex area of the law, compounded by innumerable differences at the local level. Understanding and interpreting liability is based on individual cases and varied interpretations of the statutes in specific states. Because the rules and laws vary, it is not possible for the AVMRC Program Office to provide information applicable to all 50 states and to all jurisdictions within them. Even within a specific jurisdiction and given a specific set of facts, no one can predict with certainty whether a liability suit will succeed.

State offices may provide information about its liability rules. Some states offer greater protection to medical volunteers than others. Additionally, some response partners may be able to extend the liability and workers compensation privileges that normally apply to regular workers.

Establishing: Legal Liability and Risk Reduction

Different localities are subject to different legal liability laws and standards. So we urge you to seek local legal counsel to help you understand the legal and professional guidelines affecting your AVMRC volunteers and your organization.

Once you understand the specifics governing and in some cases restricting volunteer activities, especially for medical and health professionals, it will be important to include these in your policies and as part of training your volunteers. You will likely have informed your volunteer prospects of the risks that may be associated with their work for the AVMRC. Once they join your team, however, you will want to help them understand the specifics of legal and professional standards under which they will be operating.

Over and above those technical details—which are important to know and understand—it is equally important to realize that liability laws, in principle, are intended to protect citizens from negligent or faulty behavior on the part of individuals or organizations, which negligent or faulty behavior then leads to unintended harm. What this means in practice is that efforts to protect your AVMRC volunteers from liability risks will also reduce the unintended harm they might cause those they are truly meaning to help. These harm reduction measures and principles will become part of your policies and procedures that volunteers are trained to understand and implement.

While thinking about the principles that underlie risk reduction, you may discover ways of reducing risk that exceed the standards normally required in your community or state. Implementing additional risk reduction measures can only benefit everyone involved. Don't hesitate to be a leader in promoting risk and harm reduction in your community, if you have that contribution to make.

In general, the effort you put into developing and communicating those operating policies and procedures will also help reduce the harm that might otherwise arise from a less thoughtful or under-planned utilization of your volunteers.

Legal Liability and Risk Reduction

Find out everything you can about the laws in your area that govern volunteers, "Good Samaritan" acts, medical and health practices, and general liability.

Seek legal counsel to determine the best policies and procedures to have in place to reduce the risk of harm and legal liability for your volunteers and your organization, given your local laws.

Don't hesitate to implement policies and procedures that exceed your community-set standards. Be a leader in reducing risk of harm in your community.

Train your volunteers to understand the importance of these liability and risk reduction policies and procedures. Make sure they understand concretely how to implement them.

Risk Management: Legal Liability

Glossary of Terms

Information about legal liability issues may be difficult to understand. Some legal terms that you may encounter as you address these issues with your MRC unit include:

Charitable immunity—Immunity from liability granted to charitable or nonprofit organizations (varies by state)
Civil liability—Being subject to liability for damages or restitution
Criminal liability—Being subject to fine or imprisonment for having committed criminal acts
Federal protection—The Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) of 1997. Because liability issues are primarily handled at the state level, there has been very little Federal legislation that protects volunteers. However, in 1997, the VPA was passed, which provides some limited immunity to volunteers.
However, the VPA has some limitations as it:
- Does not include acts of willful or wanton misconduct
- Requires that the volunteer be properly licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to perform the act
- Requires that the volunteer act in the scope of his/her duties as a volunteer
- Does not cover the operation of motorized vehicles
- Covers volunteers for nonprofit organizations and government agencies, and it does not cover the organization or agency itself
- Does not prohibit lawsuits; rather, it provides a potential defense for the volunteer if he/she is sued
- Defines “volunteer” as someone who does not receive compensation (or anything of value exceeding $500 in lieu of compensation) for his/her services
- Allows states to place additional conditions on immunity for volunteers
- Does not specifically include or exclude medical or health volunteers.
Immunity—Exemption from liability or the defense of being exempt from liability
Indemnity—A form of security against loss or an exemption from penalties
Negligence—A specific tort that is the basis for many lawsuits. The four components that must be present consist of:
1. Duty of care, a legal obligation (imposed on all) to act according to a standard of care when performing activities that could cause harm to others. There are special duties of care for medical and health professionals.
2. Breach of duty, or failure to act according to a reasonable standard of care when performing activities that could cause harm to others
3. Causation, or the determination of whether the breach of duty caused loss or damage
4. Damages refers to: 1) loss, damage, or injury caused by the breach of duty; or 2) the compensation for loss, damage, or injury
Sovereign immunity—Immunity of a state government or subunit of a state government from suit (state governments, although not all, may waive their sovereign immunity)
Tort—A wrongful act, omission, or violation of the duty of care resulting in injury or damage to a person or property
Vicarious liability—The liability of a superior entity for the acts of its subordinates (e.g., the liability of an organization for the actions of its volunteers)

State-Specific Liability Laws and Other Protections

Note: Every state’s liability laws and other protections differ, and the general information below may not apply to your state. For more information on your state’s liability laws regarding volunteers, see the Public Entity Risk Institute Publication, State Liability Laws for Charitable Organizations and Volunteers – 4th Edition.

Good Samaritan Acts—Most states have some form of the Good Samaritan Act, which protects an individual who provides emergency care. However, a legal professional should review your state’s specific legislation. In some states:
1. The act only protects an individual who spontaneously assists at the scene of an accident or other emergency––it does not protect organized volunteer groups.
2. The act places licensure or training requirements on volunteers who provide medical aid and may restrict the protection to specific categories of volunteers.
Emergency Management Acts—Many states have laws that protect volunteers who respond to an emergency as part of an established response. Seek legal advice, because in some states:
1. Volunteers must be pre-registered with the division of emergency management or another state or local agency.
2. Protection may not cover the operation of a motor vehicle.
3. Protection will not cover wanton, willful, or intentional acts.
Worker’s Compensation—In some states, volunteers (particularly volunteers registered with a state governmental agency) may be eligible for worker’s compensation, which would compensate them or their families if they are injured or killed during their service. However, in many states, volunteers are not eligible for worker’s compensation. This is an issue you should discuss with your state’s division of public health or emergency management agency. If your volunteers are not covered by worker’s compensation, you will need to determine what compensation, if any, you can provide if a volunteer is injured or killed. The agency that sponsors your unit may require these volunteers to sign a liability waiver.
Other Protections—States address volunteer liability issues in various ways, including specific protections for free clinic volunteers, indemnification of volunteers acting as agents of the state, laws protecting public immunization volunteers, and laws specifically protecting AVMRC and Community Emergency Response Team volunteers. These laws vary by state.

Special Considerations for Out-of-State Volunteer Deployment

Although the AVMRC is intended to serve the local community’s needs, AVMRC volunteers may have the opportunity to serve other communities in their state or another.

Before considering any opportunity to deploy your volunteers outside the local area, consider the following:

Mission—Is there a specific need that can be met by AVMRC volunteers appropriately?
Licensure—Will the volunteers’ licenses be recognized in another state?
Liability—Are the volunteers protected from liability for unintended harm?
Worker’s compensation—If a volunteer is injured during a deployment, how will he/she be compensated?
Health and well-being—How are volunteers’ physical and emotional health protected?
Food, lodging, supplies, transportation, and security—What will be provided for the volunteers, and what will they need to provide for themselves?

Volunteer deployment depends on the missions required to meet the affected area’s needs. Depending on which resources are available in the affected area, there may not be many missions that require volunteer staffing. There are several existing mechanisms for out-of-state volunteer deployment.

Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps 245 North Sixth Street Allentown, PA 18102
Ara Barlieb, Project Coordinator
phone 610-390-0255 medreserve@allentowncity.org

updated 17 December 2009