Massachusetts First Aid: What you need to know

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) governs workplace health and safety in private sector (businesses and nonprofit organizations) workplaces in the state, which includes minimum requirements for first aid. There are no additional first-aid requirements for public sector workplaces. There is additional information and a detailed discussion of federal requirements. Please see the national First Aid section.

No doctor, nurse, or hospital will be liable in a suit for damages resulting from acts or omissions relating to advice, consultation, or orders given in good faith to ambulance drivers or attendants. In turn, those ambulance drivers or attendants may not be held liable because of acts or omissions committed based on such advice, consultation, or orders if the acts or omissions were made in good faith. Physicians, dentists, or hospitals will not be liable for damages for failure to obtain consent of a parent or guardian or the spouse of a patient, to emergency examination and treatment, including blood transfusions, when delay in treatment would endanger the person's well-being (MA Gen. Laws Ch. 111C Sec. 13; Ch. 112 Sec. 12F).