Legal Advisors:
Information for Radiation Emergencies


General Comments

  • Legal issues for medical planning and response to a mass casualty radiation incident will vary with
    • Nature, severity, cause, and location of the radiation incident
    • Agency through which the responder is operating and its own rules and regulations
    • Professional capacity of the responder
    • Training and certification of the responder
    • Normal scope of practice of the responder
    • "Normal" or "altered standard of care" (e.g. Crisis) existing during the response where the responder is working
    • Activity performed or not performed
  • Medical practice, standards of care, and liability issues are complex and each practitioner should consult with experts in his/her venue and organization to obtain the best and most current advice.
  • Inclusion of references on this page does not constitute official US government or HHS endorsement.
  • Selected Federal Legal Authorities Pertinent to Public Health Emergencies(HHS/CDC)
  • Emergency Preparedness(HHS/CDC)

top of page


Assessment of State and Local Laws Regarding Management of Persons During Radiation Incidents

  • Public Health Preparedness: Examination of Legal Language Authorizing Responses to Incidents Involving Contamination with Radioactive Material (PDF - 670 KB) (HHS/CDC/RSB and CDC/ATSDR; CDC/Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support; Legal Preparendess Project: collaboration between CDC and NACCHO), May 2014)
    • Designed to answer 2 questions: Do states and select jurisdictions...
      • "Possess the authority to decontaminate persons contaminated with radioactive material?"
      • "Have the authority to restrict the movement of persons contaminated with radioactive material? (e.g. quarantine)?"
    • Goals
      • "Identify and categorize the current landscape of laws that may be available to decontaminate and restrict personal movement of persons contaminated or potentially contaminated with radioactivity"
      • "Foster collaboration among stakeholders to enhance preparedness and response"
    • Conducted a legal assessment of all fifty states, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
      • Text, maps and tables show comparisons among these jurisdictions

top of page


Emergency Declaration Authorities Across all States and DC

  • Links to legal authorizations for each of the 50 states and DC (The Network for Public Health Law)
    • Table provides state statutory and regulatory authorities for emergency declarations in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia including
      • Emergency declarations, public health emergency declarations, and other types of declarations that may relate to the public's health.

top of page


HIPAA Issues

top of page


International Documents about Ethics in Disasters

top of page

References

top of page