Often during training courses, participants ask questions like: “If I do chest compressions wrong and the patient dies, do I go to prison?” Or in the more tragic cases: “So if I know how to do this stuff and I see an accident, am I forced to intervene?” This article aims to clarify the civil and criminal responsibilities of a rescuer, both on and off duty.

Let’s start by distinguishing the two areas: Link to heading

Civil Liability: arises from the commission of an unjustified harm to others, and is punishable by a monetary compensation order for the damage.

Criminal Liability: arises from the commission of an offense under the criminal code. The penalty may be a fine or imprisonment.

So how do they differ? Link to heading

Unlike civil liability, which can be “transferable,” criminal liability is personal, meaning that for the commission of any offense — whether a felony or a misdemeanor — only the acting subject, the one who carried out the unlawful conduct, is responsible.

I want to immediately point out that from a legal standpoint, a volunteer on duty is equivalent to an employee. Being a volunteer therefore does not exempt anyone from liability, nor does it grant immunity.

Another type of liability involves disciplinary sanctions, which can vary from organization to organization and is often different for a volunteer versus an employee. Given the variety of the topic, I won’t cover it here.

So what liability does a volunteer rescuer actually face? Link to heading

A rescuer performing their duties is considered a public service officer (be careful not to confuse this with the role of a public official). A volunteer who happens to be at the scene of an accident and decides to intervene is not a public service officer. That said, in such a situation, a trained rescuer does not have the same responsibilities as a layperson but must act according to their skills to avoid committing the crime of failure to provide assistance.

Generally, what qualifies conduct as negligent in the commission of an offense can be:

  • negligence
  • recklessness
  • incompetence

These three elements constitute so-called generic fault, as opposed to specific fault, which occurs through the violation of regulations, orders, etc.

Generic fault is governed by an empirical, not strictly legal, standard: the judge is entrusted with a weighted decision based on common experience, drawing from conduct in comparable cases, to evaluate in practice whether the action taken was in line with the average diligence, prudence, or competence expected of an average agent in similar circumstances.

What obligations does a rescuer have? Link to heading

  • Duty to report — if a volunteer, in the course of their duties, witnesses or believes a crime has occurred, they have the obligation to report it to the competent authorities.
  • Duty of professional secrecy — a rescuer must under no circumstances disclose facts or circumstances encountered during their service.
  • Duty to intervene — the rescuer on duty must provide specific and appropriate assistance based on the condition of the person being helped.
  • Duty to respect privacy: during service, one inevitably comes into contact with the sensitive data of the person being helped (name, address, health status), all of which must be handled with the utmost discretion.

What can a volunteer rescuer actually do? Link to heading

  • Recognize and assess vital signs and their main alterations.
  • Perform basic resuscitation maneuvers (external cardiac massage, artificial ventilation) and use the AED if qualified.
  • Administer oxygen according to protocols or under authorization from the operations center.
  • Immobilize the spine, pelvis, and limbs.
  • Perform hemostasis only in cases of extreme necessity.
  • Protect and temporarily dress wounds.
  • Remove an injured or ill person from imminent danger without compromising their own safety.

The list may be expanded or reduced depending on the region. An example could be the use of LUCAS (a mechanical chest compression device).

Online you can find more detailed and technically-oriented articles such as this one. I’ve tried to simplify the main points as much as possible, hoping to make the topic clearer for readers.

A heartfelt thanks goes to Luca P. for his help in interpreting and simplifying the legal topics :)