Introduction to First Aid

First Aid and the Law

Note that St. John Ambulance is not providing legal advice. This guide is not intended to replace advice given by a lawyer or legal professional.

Good Samaritan Laws and Principles

Across Canada, Good Samaritan laws and principles protect first aiders from lawsuits. You are a Good Samaritan if you are a bystander who helps a person when you have no legal duty to do so. As a Good Samaritan, you provide your help without being paid, and you give it in good faith. Whenever you help a person in an emergency situation, you should abide by the following principles:

• You identify yourself as a first aider and get permission to help the injured or ill person before you touch them—this is called consent.
• You use reasonable skill and care in accordance with the level of knowledge and skill that you have.
• You are not negligent in what you do.
• You do not abandon the person.

Negligence

Provide only the care that you have been trained to give, and always act in the best interest of the casualty.

Abandonment

Never abandon a casualty in your care. Stay until:

Check your applicable workplace legislation/regulations.

• You hand them over to medical help.
• The casualty is better and can care for themselves.
• You hand them over to another first aider.
• They no longer want your help—this is usually because the problem is no longer an emergency, and further care is not needed.

Reasonable skill and care

As a Good Samaritan, when you give first aid you are expected to use reasonable skill and care according to your level of knowledge and skills.

Consent

The law says everyone has the right not to be touched by others. As a first aider, you must respect this right.

Expressed consent

Always ask if you can help. You are looking for the casualty to indicate “yes” either by saying it, nodding, or in another way that can clearly be interpreted as yes.

Informed and ongoing consent

Building on expressed consent, informed and ongoing consent is obtained as you tell the casualty what you will be doing and confirming that it is okay to continue. A person has the right to withdraw their consent at any time.

Implied consent

If the casualty cannot answer, you have what is called implied consent, and you can help. An unresponsive casualty is in serious condition and it is assumed that they would agree to any help you can give them.

Consent with children

If the casualty is an infant or a young child, you must get consent from the child’s parent or guardian. If there is no parent or guardian at the scene, the law assumes the casualty would give consent if they could, so you have implied consent to help.

Refused consent

A person has the right to refuse your offer of help. In this case, do not force first aid on a conscious casualty. If you do not have consent to help, there may be other actions you can take without touching the casualty, such as controlling the scene, and calling for medical help.

Duty to respond

The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms declares that any person whose life is in danger has the right to be helped. This means that you are required to help a person whose life is at risk, provided you do not put your own life, or anyone else’s, in danger.

In the rest of Canada, there is no legal obligation for you to give first aid to someone unless it is your role within the workplace.

As noted above, every workplace is required to have a designated first aid provider on every shift. If an emergency happens in the workplace, the designated first aider is required to respond unless their safety is at risk.