Okay, I have to add my two cents.
That is a good summary but the general immunity from liability clause in pretty much every state applies only to those trained in CPR (even if just at a lay level). Someone completely untrained (never having taken a CPR class) is not necessarily granted any immunity from negligence if they attempt to wing it and things go bad. It is a good motivation for everyone to get a CPR card.
In order to prove negligence, there are four universally recognized points that must be addressed.
1. duty to act
2. failure in that duty to act
3. harm
4. proximate cause
If a person is in cardiac arrest, nothing worse can happen to them. They are dead at that point. You can crack ribs (and yes it DOES happen from time to time, especially with incorrect hand placement), lacerate a liver or spleen, puncture a lung or whatever. The patient is pulseless and apneic, they are clinically dead. Therefore, even if you have never been trained in CPR, you can do no harm to that patient, so you are not succeptible to liability. This the way that 911 call centers can give CPR instructions ove the phone to an untrained layperson without fear of the legal ramifications.
********The above only applies to the pulseless and apneic patient!!! Patients who ARE NOT pulseless and apneic can have further harm done to them!*****
The Federal Good Samaritian law DOES NOT superscede state law, as spelled out in the Federal good samaritan law. The Federal Good Samaritan law only applies to AED usage, so State law is more protective anyway.
The following is an excerpt from the National Conference of STate Legislatures
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/aed.htm
On November 13, 2000 President Clinton signed the federal "Cardiac Arrest Survival Act", in H.R.2498, now Public Law 106-505, regarding the placement of AEDs in federal buildings and providing civil immunity for authorized users. If a Good Samaritan, building owner, or renter acts in good faith to purchase or use an AED to save a life, this law will provide protection from unfair lawsuits. It appropriates $25,000,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2003 for local grants to purchase AEDs. The federal bill does not preempt state laws on immunity. Many of the 49 states with existing laws cover additional issues not addressed in this bill. U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and 132 cosponsors sponsored H.R. 2498.
On April 24, 1998 President Clinton signed Public Law 105-170, the Aviation Medical Assistance Act, relating to defibrillators on airplanes. It declares that air carriers and individuals "shall not be liable for damages" in attempting to obtain or provide assistance. It directs the FAA Administrator to "evaluate regulations" and decide on future required use of AEDs on passenger aircraft and in airports
Capnography is the wave of the future. A person in cardiopulmonary arrest with proper CPR and capnography will show changes in the capnography readings. All of my medics are now using capnography not only in codes, but in breathing difficulty calls as well.
Final point. Someone mentioned that it takes 10-15 seconds for CPR compressions to become effective. This is in fact true. If has been found that fifteen compressions is not enough time for the backpressure to build to a suitable level. In fact, over the phone lay person instructions for CPR are now completely omitting the breathing component.
Follow the local guidelines until they change.
