In an emergency situation where a child has a severe allergic reaction could you get caught in a legal..?
Question:
Also, is this the precaution in case something goes wrong and the reaction cannont be stopped? What about the Good Samaritan Act or Law?
I know that if my child were having a severe reaction I would care if my child attempted to injected it themselves and they weren't at an age where they could use it properly (Like a three year old). At that point I believe someone else who could read directions and know what they were doing would be more suitable to use it.
Even so, any comments are welcome.
Answers:
I am an EMT and as an EMT we are to assist adults with an epi pen. As for children, it is going to depend on the age of the child. It also depends on how you are related to the child. If you have had training in the signs and symptoms for that child's reaction.
The best thing to do is to call 911 when you suspect an allergic reaction. Even if you give the child the epi pen they are still going to need to go to the hospital. Always make sure you have someone call the parents. It depends on what state you are in and how the laws and protocols are written for EMS.
Best thing is to make sure you are educated on recognizing the signs of anaphlatic shock.
Other Answers:
Technically, these types of questions relating to "pharmacy law" should be directed to a Registered Pharmacist. However, if it were my child, and say he/she got stung by a bee and stopped breathing from anaphylactic shock, then yes, if "Epi-Pen" were the only choice between saving my child's life or not, then yes indeed save the child's life, and deal with any legal issues later if there is any.
i think in an emergency situation, rules are different. i can see a problem occurring if say, a child has an allergic reaction and the child does not have their own epi-pen and instead, you have your own, so you inject your epi-pen into the child. the dose is incorrect for the child (you have the kid too much epinephrine) and the child has some sort of adverse effect. however, if the child has a reaction and has their own epi-pen and you are just helping the child to inject it or you inject it for the child, i cant see there being any problem. you are just helping them to give themself a prescribed medication in the case of emergency, where they may be flustered or nervous or already experiencng allergic effects.
In an emergency situation, I believe you are protected by the good samaritan law. Besides, if the child is having an allergic reaction and they had never had it before, or even if they did, the child would not be able to inject themselves. A severe allergic reaction would put any adult in shock, let alone a child. However, I'm not a lawyer. I would tend to react to save the person, then worry about legal issues.
would a parent really try to take the child away from a parent who was trying to save the child's life? I don't know anything from the legal point of view, but I would think a judge would have common sense enough to know that if the child was unable to give the shot themselves or was a minor, that they parent was more than capable of doing it for them - and possibly saving their life. If the child were to die, it would be from the allergic reaction itself - which carries no fault. Many times patients are not able to administer the shots themselves due to the symptoms of the allergic reaction...as long as they aren't a DNR (do not resuscitate), anyone they consent to give them the shot can administer it to them - and in the case of a friend or passerby - the good samaritan law would protect them if something were to go wrong.
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