NCJ Number
242351
Date Published
2012
Length
467 pages
Annotation
As the first book to be published on emergency-response and emergency-management law, the earlier edition filled a gap in the legal literature; this second edition addresses historic expansions that have occurred in these two legal domains since the first edition's publication.
Abstract
In setting the stage for Section I, which focuses on emergency-response law, the first chapter, "Duty to Act," draws lessons on this duty from the central issues of a pivotal legal case, American National Bank & Trust v. City of Chicago (Supreme Court of Illinois 192 Ill. 2d 274 (Ill. 2000). This is followed by a discussion of the application of emergency-response law to training accidents. It examines a court case that addressed possible liability of the entity sponsoring emergency-response training. Chapter three addresses "Vehicle Issues," which draws lessons from legal cases that have involved police "hot pursuit" and any emergency vehicle accident when it is traveling to and from the scene of an emergency. Other emergency-response case law is considered in separate chapters on dispatch issues; emergency medical services; standard operating procedures, mutual aid, and the incident-management system; hazardous-materials incidents; using volunteer resources; and recovery by responders (the rescue doctrine, disorder, the "fireman's rule," post-traumatic stress disorder, and litigation involving the World Trade Center site. In addressing emergency-management law, the 12 chapters of Section II address the following issues: governors' powers; State and local responsibilities; Federal emergency management's history, evolution and challenges; Federal emergency management grants; difficulties in mitigating legal exposure; legal steps in mitigation; potential negligence liability; legal requirements regarding language interpreting/translating; preparedness; recovery cases; and the role of the local government attorney before, during, and after a disaster. The three chapters of Section III, "Toward the Future," discuss ethical choices in emergency-management decisions, and changes in emergency-response and emergency-management policies and planning since 9/11. Appended local disaster or emergency ordinance, a listing of emergency planning Web resources, a table of court cases, and a subject index