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Thank you for flying Spirit (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[–] -1 points 6 months ago (10 children)

It's not really about being paid, it's about being covered by malpractice insurance which typically only happens for paid services. Yes people or people's families regularly sue doctors when treatment is unsuccessful. Some jurisdictions don't allow this, but often while non doctors cannot be sued because of these 'Good Samaritan' laws, doctors can still be. And when you're in the air, it's not always clear what jurisdiction you are in.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Seems like a contradictory explanation.

    If malpractice insurance doesn’t apply because you are not practicing, wouldn’t Good Samaritan kick in cause you’re just a member of the public during the situation?

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago

    The US is incredibly lawsuit-heavy. You can't even just go and explain your side of the story because the victim will bring the biggest, baddest ambulance chaser they can find.

    Not all states apply good samarintan clauses the same, some only apply to civil liability which gets messy.

    The Hippocratic oath would be enough for most to do it anyway if no one steps up, but i understand the not wanting to part because they are not universally protected.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    In Canada all provinces have some form of Good Samaritan law which means that you aren't responsible other than gross negligence. So any off-duty doctor would be very safe to help out unless they were doing something very stupid.

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    But who defines 'very stupid'. The loved ones of the person who dies because the doctor didn't recommend an emergency stop?

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Of course it can only surely be decided in a court. But in this case it would be something like was not actively trying to cause harm.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    If a doctor has to defend themselves in court they have to pay a lawyer, spend a bunch of time on it and it's a huge stressor. Much easier to just stay quiet. Almost all doctors would step in and save a live if there was something specific that they needed to be done. But in an airplane, there's barely any equipment - all of the stewards are going to be trained in first aid and cpr, so are likely better able to manage anything that can be done. The only reason they ask for a doctor is because it's a trope that people expect (so people would be upset if they didn't, and so didn't appear to be doing all they could), and to share the responsibility.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    Of course, but because the law is so protective you won't need to 99.9% of the time. Canada also isn't a very litigious place and even if it does get raised it will probably get thrown out quickly. To most doctors it is also a huge stressors to watch someone that they can help die. So overall the balance is well worth trying to help out.

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