Emergency rescue wrongly accused, the "Physician Law" defends the "right to street first aid"
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
[2] Yesterday, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Medical Practitioners officially came into effect (simultaneously repealing the Law of the People's Republic of China on Licensed Medical Practitioners), which provides strong protection for the rights of medical practitioners in emergency treatment: on one hand, the state encourages medical practitioners to actively participate in emergency rescue services in public places such as public transportation; on the other hand, medical practitioners who voluntarily provide emergency care are not liable for civil damages if they cause harm to the recipient.
Case review
In 2017, an elderly man in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, suddenly fainted while buying medicine at a pharmacy. The shop owner, Mr. Sun, who held a medical license, performed CPR on him, but the procedure resulted in 12 broken ribs and a contusion of the right lung. The elderly man subsequently sued the shop owner in court.
[4] Although this incident occurred in a pharmacy, it can still be considered as happening in a public place. While Mr. Sun had a medical license, his act of voluntarily rescuing the person was not an obligation but purely based on moral duty. Mr. Sun's experience vividly reflects the dilemma faced by medical practitioners when rescuing people in public places. Although the People's Court of Kangping County, Liaoning Province, later issued a judgment dismissing the plaintiff's claims, a result that is reassuring, ensuring that all medical practitioners can confidently and boldly rescue people in public places requires explicit legal provisions for protection.
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
[5] Article 184
[6] If harm is caused to the recipient due to voluntary emergency rescue actions, the rescuer shall not bear civil liability.
[1] Law of the People's Republic of China on Licensed Physicians
Article 27
[2] For patients requiring emergency treatment, physicians shall take emergency measures to provide diagnosis and treatment and shall not refuse emergency care.
[3] In emergency situations such as rescuing critically ill patients, when consent from the patient or their close relatives cannot be obtained, with the approval of the person in charge of the medical institution or an authorized person, corresponding medical measures may be implemented immediately.
[4] The state encourages physicians to actively participate in emergency services in public places such as public transportation; physicians who cause harm to recipients due to voluntary emergency care shall not bear civil liability.
[1] The author's perspective
Physicians save lives and treat the sick, but they are not omniscient deities. In public places, they most likely face the challenge of providing aid without medical records or standard technical conditions, relying on both experience and courage. As we all know, for a patient in critical condition, every second can be golden time for rescue. In such a crisis, if a physician also has to consider how to avoid “liability” and whether saving or not saving is the safer choice, that would not only violate the spirit and duty of a doctor but may even cause the optimal window to be missed.
Therefore, to ensure that physicians no longer harbor excessive concerns when rescuing patients in emergencies, the Civil Code first stipulated that "a person who voluntarily performs an act of emergency rescue and causes harm to the recipient shall not bear civil liability." Subsequently, the Physicians Law further refined and emphasized this principle. It is evident that fundamentally dispelling their concerns is the greatest safeguard for saving lives and treating illnesses. None of us wants to see "standing by while someone dies," so we should respect physicians' acts of rescue in public places, objectively face the outcomes of such emergency rescue efforts, and avoid attaching excessive thoughts and emotions to them. Each of us should establish a correct scientific understanding and foster an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding, thereby encouraging more physicians to participate in "street emergency rescue."
