Legal Briefing: Crisis Standards of Care and Legal Protections during Disasters and Emergencies 

 

Thaddeus Mason Pope and Mitchell F. Palazzo

 

The Journal of Clinical Ethics 21, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 358-367.

 

This article outlines current safe harbors in the law for healthcare practitioners who work in a disaster setting. It reviews available legal protection in crisis situations with respect to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), criminal liability, and licensure.