Editing Good Samaritan law (section)

===Consent===
The responder must obtain the consent  of the patient, or of the legal guardian of a patient who is a [[minor (law)|minor]], unless this is not possible; failing to do so may attract a charge of [[assault]] or [[battery (tort)|battery]].

====Implied consent====
{{Main|Implied consent}}

Consent may be implied if an unattended patient is unconscious, delusional, intoxicated, or deemed mentally unfit to make decisions regarding his or her safety, or if the responder has a reasonable belief that this was so; courts tend to be very forgiving in adjudicating this, under the [[legal fiction]] that "peril invites rescue" (as in the [[rescue doctrine]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.law.com/default2.asp?selected=904&bold=|title=Implied Consent |access-date=2008-10-17}}</ref> The test in most jurisdictions is that of the "average, reasonable person". To illustrate, would the average, reasonable person in any of the states described above consent to receiving assistance in these circumstances is able to make a decision?

Consent may also be implied if the legal parent or guardian is not immediately reachable and the patient is not considered an adult.

====Parental consent====
If the victim is a minor, consent must come from a parent or guardian. However, if the legal parent or guardian is absent, unconscious, delusional, or intoxicated, consent is implied. A responder is not required to withhold life-saving treatment (e.g., [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]] or the [[Henry Heimlich#Heimlich maneuver|Heimlich maneuver]]) from a minor if the parent or guardian will not consent.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} The parent or guardian is then considered neglecting the minor, and consent for treatment is implied by default because [[negligence|neglect has been committed]]. Special circumstances may exist if [[child abuse]] is suspected (the courts will usually give immunity to those first responders who report what they reasonably consider to be evidence of child abuse or neglect, similar to that given to those who have an actual duty to report such abuse, such as teachers or counsellors).<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Foltin GL, Lucky C, Portelli I, etal |title=Overcoming legal obstacles involving the voluntary care of children who are separated from their legal guardians during a disaster |journal=Pediatric Emergency Care |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=392–398 |date=June 2008 |pmid=18562886 |doi=10.1097/PEC.0b013e318178c05d|s2cid=24058314 }}</ref>

====Laws for first responders only====
In some jurisdictions,{{which|date=May 2012}} Good Samaritan laws only protect those who have completed basic first aid training and are certified by health organizations, such as the [[American Heart Association]], or [[American Red Cross]], provided that they have acted within the scope of their training.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cga.ct.gov/lrc/recommendations/GoodSamaritanFiremansRuleFinalRpt.htm|title=Good Samaritan/Fireman's Rule |access-date=2008-10-17}}</ref> In these jurisdictions, a person who is neither trained in first aid nor certified, and who performs first aid incorrectly, can be held legally liable for errors made. In other jurisdictions any rescuer is protected from liability so long as the responder acted rationally.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} In Florida, paramedics, EMTs, and emergency medical responders (first responders) are required by law to act under the Duty to Act law, which requires them to stop and give aid that falls within their practice.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}}