By Tess Zachary
When hosting a private party, the last thing anyone expects is a medical emergency. No one wants to interrupt a party; however, being prepared to respond appropriately can not only save a life but also help mitigate potential legal liabilities for the hosts.
If someone experiences a medical crisis at your party, the first and most crucial step is to assess the situation and determine if a ride to a hospital or urgent care is appropriate, or if you need to call 911. This is an issue of using your best judgment and erring on the side of caution. Time is of the essence in a medical emergency, so don’t hesitate to contact emergency responders right away.
According to the American Medical Association, you should call 911 immediately for life-threatening issues, including chest pain, difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding, sudden numbness/weakness (stroke signs), loss of consciousness, severe allergic reactions, seizures, or severe head injuries. Do not wait if symptoms are severe or worsening rapidly.
Guidance from the AMA (Remember, 911 is faster)
| When to call 911 or go to the ER |
| Heart Attack Symptoms: Chest pain, pressure, or tightness, especially if it radiates to the arm, jaw, or neck. |
| Stroke Symptoms: Sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side), facial drooping, slurred speech, or confusion. |
| Seizures: Whetherconscious or unconscious. |
| Breathing Issues: Severe shortness of breath, inability to breathe, or wheezing. |
| Trauma & Injury: Head injuries with confusion/vomiting, deep or spurting wounds, compound fractures, or severe burns. |
| Severe Pain: Sudden, intense pain anywhere in the body. |
| Neurological Changes: Sudden dizziness, loss of vision, fainting, or sudden severe headache. |
| Severe Gastrointestinal Issues: Persistent, severe vomiting, diarrhea, or vomiting blood. |
| Allergic Reactions: Anaphylaxis (throat tightness, hives, rapid heart rate). |
If trained in first aid, hosts should provide basic care to the individual until help arrives. This could include applying pressure to stop bleeding, performing CPR, or placing the person in the recovery position. If no one who is responsible for the event is trained medical personnel, ask if someone nearby is and then allow them to take over. The key is to remain calm and do what you can to stabilize the situation, but don’t attempt anything beyond your abilities, as that could cause more harm and legal liability.
While acting quickly and responsibly is paramount, party hosts must also be mindful of potential legal liabilities. There is an expectation of a reasonable duty of care for guests. Failing to respond appropriately could open the door to negligence claims.
Additionally, the Good Samaritan law provides some legal protection for those who attempt to assist in an emergency. However, hosts’ actions must still be within the scope of their training. Premises liability and alcohol-related incidents are other areas of concern.
Consulting a local attorney can help you understand your specific obligations and risks under the law. Documenting the incident and preserving any relevant evidence is also advisable.
Ultimately, being prepared to handle medical emergencies and navigating the associated liabilities requires a delicate balance. By acting quickly, providing basic care if trained to do so, and fully cooperating with emergency responders, hosts can help save lives while also protecting themselves. With the right knowledge and precautions, private parties can remain safe and enjoyable for all.
Best Practices for Medical Emergencies at parties and events
Before the Event:
- Keep maps, directions, and phone numbers for emergency rooms and urgent care centers (with operating hours) handy and accessible on 1 single page. On this page, include the address, where you are, and contact numbers for the event. You will hand these out to people, so be sure to have them conveniently located with many copies.
- Have a process at your event for a medical emergency that includes turning on overhead lights and clearing a path.
- Educate your attendees on the importance of carrying an emergency card that includes their Legal name, D.O.B., blood type, health conditions, medications, and an emergency contact. Tell each attendee to let someone they trust know where this card is (e.g., in their purse, back pocket, etc.).
The Emergency Plan
The following process, or something like it, needs to be trained and drilled regularly. Document what you trained and who you trained with dates. This helps limit liability.
You should have a copy of your process for every staff member, including the information from your 1-page handout. If they have to waste time looking for things, they won’t be very effective. You should call local services (fire, ambulance), find out their response times for your location, and add that to your single page, so you know what to expect. Be sure to know how ambulances work in the area. In 39 states, EMS is not a mandatory emergency service, so if your local municipality adheres to those rules, you could be in an area only serviced by private ambulances.
Drill the following steps with all staff:
One (1) person needs to take charge of the scene. They are in charge until someone more qualified arrives. If someone with emergency management experience is present, let them handle while you take directions. Sometimes the best thing we can do is delegate our authority.
When directing action, you don’t say “Someone go do X”, you say someone’s name or point to them and say “Name, go do X”. Saying “someone” will create chaos as either no one or everyone tries to do that thing.
- Evaluate the Incident Area
- Secure or eliminate hazards to the victim, you, your team, and other people before entering the area.
- Secure the Incident Area
- Do not move the person if they are having an emergency, especially if they may have fallen.
- Control traffic through the area to just that which is necessary. Don’t do this yourself; direct someone to do it.
- Provide privacy to the extent possible, and you will want to figure out exactly what happened after things have settled down.
- Have someone turn on overhead lights, turn off music, and notify attendees.
- Based upon the training of the first responding person, render aid until a more qualified person is present to assist.
- If someone yells “I am a doctor”, let them handle the medical issue, while you handle the logistics.
- If you aren’t fortunate enough for this to happen, ask if there is a medical professional in the building (or send people to find one).
- Someone with training can assess if CPR, first aid, or the recovery position is appropriate.
- Ask who knows the person and what they can tell you. Ask if they have an emergency card. If so, get this information to the person calling 911.
- Direct someone to call 911 on speakerphone who can provide the dispatcher with the address, a description of the emergency, any other relevant details and directions to you (give them the 1-pager you have created).
- Have this person near the person with medical training on speaker so they can exchange information with emergency services.
- Send someone to the parking lot or street to wait for EMS. This person will direct to the front door.
- Send someone to the front door to direct them to where you are when they arrive.
- Have someone else clear a path from the front door to the person having an emergency.
- Instruct someone to notify your team.
- Wait with the person until 911 arrives.
- If they do not have someone to go with them, send a member of staff.
- Ask the EMT’s which hospital they are going to.
- If you have an emergency card, direct someone to inform their emergency person. This needs to be done gently and with discretion. Do not leave a message with this. You leave a message that says, “This is X. I need to talk to you about Y Person. Please call me as soon as possible.” When you speak to them, don’t say they were at a lifestyle event or how they were injured. Inform them of the emergency and which hospital they went to.
After the Incident
Gather everyone involved, and anyone who witnessed either the incident or the response. Give each of them a piece of paper and a pencil and have them write down what they witnessed and what they did. The person directing also needs to complete this task. Include everyone’s name and phone number. Depending on the kind of incident, you may need to document the scene with photographs.
Anyone who went to the hospital with them likely needs to do this, but you catch up with them later.
Use the collected information to determine what happened to prevent or improve your response next time. The more your staff knows, the less risk exists for you and your guests. The next time you train, talk about what was done well and what could have been handled better.
Can someone really sue you?
The short answer is yes. Anyone can sue anyone for anything. You are less likely to be sued if you have a good process and follow your process.
Liability for a medical emergency at a party depends on negligence and premises safety. Hosts are typically not liable if they acted reasonably, maintained a safe environment, and did not cause the danger. Liability arises if the host acted negligently, such as ignoring risks, failing to call 911, or overserving alcohol, while Good Samaritan laws often protect those who try to help.
Key Legal Concepts
- Duty of Care: Courts often consider whether the host is hosting a private, non-commercial party, which typically has lower legal responsibility than commercial venues. However, be aware that if you are running a regular and habitual house party, your homeowners’ insurance will likely not cover you.
- Social Host Liability: The legal responsibility of a host for injuries caused to or by guests.
- Negligence: A breach of a duty of care that causes injury. This includes failure to get someone help.
- Dram Shop Act: Laws that often create exceptions to common law rules, allowing liability for serving alcohol.
- Employer as Social Host (Delfino v. Griffo): In a 2011 New Mexico case, a company was held liable as a “social host” for a fatal drunk driving accident because they held a party for business purposes and controlled the alcohol served to an employee.
Key Factors Influencing Liability
- Premises Liability: Homeowners/hosts must maintain a safe property, free of hazards that could cause injury, as per thefirm.us. If a guest is injured due to a known, unaddressed hazard (e.g., broken stairs, wet floor), the host may be liable.
- Negligence: If a host fails to act as a “reasonably prudent person” (e.g., not calling for medical help when needed), they may be held liable. In tort law, the “reasonably prudent person” standard is used to determine negligence, in which an individual’s conduct is evaluated against what an average person would do in similar circumstances.
- Host Liability/Social Host Liability: If a medical emergency is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, the host can be held liable in many jurisdictions. Most jurisdictions limit this to harm suffered by others, but some allow intoxicated patrons to sue for their own injuries. While these laws typically apply to commercial establishments, some states also extend liability to social hosts. These laws are usually based on negligence and not strict liability.
- Sudden Medical Emergency Defense: If a guest has a pre-existing condition and a sudden, unforeseeable episode occurs, the homeowner is generally not liable unless they are negligent in providing prompt care.
- Good Samaritan Protection: Individuals who provide reasonable, voluntary, and non-reckless assistance during an emergency are typically protected from liability. Non-reckless assistance usually requires you to render aid only to the limit of your training. Even if trying to help, acting with severe recklessness (e.g., performing unnecessary, dangerous actions) can lead to liability.