Promoting Disaster Preparedness & Resiliency
CItizen Corps Volunteer Liability Guide
This was just released (see attachment).
It is an overview of the legal issues and approaches to address liability issues for emergency volunteers:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/pdf/Citizen_Corps_Volunteer_Liability_G...
It is 100 pages and downloadable.
Citizen Corps is FEMA’s grassroots strategy to build a nationwide culture of emergency and disaster
preparedness to support national and community resilience. Citizen Corps Councils bring together government and community leaders to engage individual members of the public and organizations from all sectors to collaborate on preparedness planning, emergency response, and disaster mitigation and recovery.
Engaging the public is a critical part of Citizen Corps’ mission. Well-trained volunteers supplement
governmental resources in all phases of emergency management. Identifying and supporting policy and practice that promote and strengthen public participation is, therefore, an important element of Citizen Corps’ implementation.
FEMA has learned from Citizen Corps Councils, volunteer program managers, and volunteers that liability is a significant concern and a potential barrier to volunteer involvement in emergency services. Liability—legal responsibility for one’s acts or omissions—includes diverse concerns: legally imposed payment of damages for personal injury or property damage; penalties for practicing a profession or trade without the required license or permit; compensation for lost income and medical expenses of an injured volunteer; and damages for breach of contract.
To offer guidance in this area, FEMA funded the nonprofit Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) to develop the Citizen Corps Volunteer Liability Guide (CCVLG) to provide an overview of liability and to suggest some approaches to addressing these concerns.
The material in this Guide is offered for general information purposes only. It does not provide legal advice, and the user is encouraged to seek out state-specific counsel from a qualified attorney before taking any action. This Guide also does not address specialized liability issues, such as liability based on credentialing and privileging of healthcare workers, accreditation of healthcare facilities, privacy laws, and quarantine decisions. Descriptions of statutory provisions have been paraphrased to make them easier to read, and the user is encouraged to review the complete statutory language. Links to all state statutory websites have been provided for this purpose.
Finally, while there can be no guarantees against being sued, being informed on the issues can minimize your risk.
It is an overview of the legal issues and approaches to address liability issues for emergency volunteers:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/pdf/Citizen_Corps_Volunteer_Liability_G...
It is 100 pages and downloadable.
Citizen Corps is FEMA’s grassroots strategy to build a nationwide culture of emergency and disaster
preparedness to support national and community resilience. Citizen Corps Councils bring together government and community leaders to engage individual members of the public and organizations from all sectors to collaborate on preparedness planning, emergency response, and disaster mitigation and recovery.
Engaging the public is a critical part of Citizen Corps’ mission. Well-trained volunteers supplement
governmental resources in all phases of emergency management. Identifying and supporting policy and practice that promote and strengthen public participation is, therefore, an important element of Citizen Corps’ implementation.
FEMA has learned from Citizen Corps Councils, volunteer program managers, and volunteers that liability is a significant concern and a potential barrier to volunteer involvement in emergency services. Liability—legal responsibility for one’s acts or omissions—includes diverse concerns: legally imposed payment of damages for personal injury or property damage; penalties for practicing a profession or trade without the required license or permit; compensation for lost income and medical expenses of an injured volunteer; and damages for breach of contract.
To offer guidance in this area, FEMA funded the nonprofit Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) to develop the Citizen Corps Volunteer Liability Guide (CCVLG) to provide an overview of liability and to suggest some approaches to addressing these concerns.
The material in this Guide is offered for general information purposes only. It does not provide legal advice, and the user is encouraged to seek out state-specific counsel from a qualified attorney before taking any action. This Guide also does not address specialized liability issues, such as liability based on credentialing and privileging of healthcare workers, accreditation of healthcare facilities, privacy laws, and quarantine decisions. Descriptions of statutory provisions have been paraphrased to make them easier to read, and the user is encouraged to review the complete statutory language. Links to all state statutory websites have been provided for this purpose.
Finally, while there can be no guarantees against being sued, being informed on the issues can minimize your risk.
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