An Act To Establish a Duty To Report Serious Injuries
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1738
Committee: JUdiciary
Sponsors: McLEOD, RA YE, BURNS, CEBRA, EDGECOMB, GIFFORD, LEWIN, SARTY, SYKES, TARDY

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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.124th MAINE LEGISLATURE 
SECOND· REGULAR SESSION-2010 
Legislative Document. 
No; 1738 
H.P. 1235 
House of Representatives, January 14, 2010 
An Act To Establish a Duty To Report Serious Injuries 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Reference to the Committee on JUdiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative McLEOD of Lee. 
Cosponsored by Senator RA YE of Washington and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BURNS of Whiting, CEBRA of Naples, EDGECOMB of Caribou, GIFFORD 
of Lincoln, LEWIN of Eliot, SARTY of Denmark, SYKES of Harrison, TARDY of Newport. 
Print~J on recycled pnpcr 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 14 MRS A §222 is.enacted to r~ad: 
§222. Duty to report serious injury 
1. 
Definition. 
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
. 
. "serious injury" means any untreated gunshot wound, knife wound or other open wound 
that involves substantial blood loss .. 
2. Duty. A person who is 18 years of age or older and who observes that another 
person has received a serious injury shall immediately report that injury to and shall 
request first aid by the quickest means of communication available from a police 
department, emergency dispatch center, licensed medical facility or licensed medical 
provider. 
A. The duty imposed by this subsection applies regardless of whether the injury was 
self-inflicted intentionally, recklessly, negligently or accidentally. 
. 
B. This section may notbe interpreted to impose a duty to provide first aid or other 
medical treatment. 
C. The duty imposed by this subsection is satisfied if another person has already 
made or agreed to make the report and request for first aid. 
3. Cause of action. A person who is injured by the failure of another person to 
report a serious injury may bring a civil action against the person alleged to have 
breached the duty imposed by subsection 2. 
. 
A. A person who brings a civil action pursuant to this subsection must prove by a 
preponderance of the· evidence the extent .to which the alleged breach of the duty 
imposed by subsection 2 was a substantial factor in causing an aggravation of the 
person's injury. 
. . .  
B. The amount of damages awarded pursuant to this section may not be reduced as a 
result of any intentional act or negligence committed by the injured person, as long as 
the recoverable damages are limited to the aggravation of the injury proximately 
caused by the failure to report the injury as required by.subsection 2. 
C. A person against whom a claim under this subsection has been asserted has an 
affirmative defense that the person did not report· the serious injury because that 
person was in the process of providing first aid to the injured person. 
4. Application. The civil cause of action created by subsection 3 must be applied to 
a case that accrues on or after the effective date of this section. 
5. 
Governmental entities and employees. 
This section does not apply to a 
governmental entity or government employee acting in the course and scope of that 
3.6 
entity's or employee's duties. 
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SUMMARY 
This bill requires a person who observes that another person has received a serious 
injury to immediately report that injury to and request first aid by the quickest means of 
communication available from a police department, emergency dispatch center, licensed 
medical facility or licensed medical provider.