Originally Posted by supermasterphil
My grandpa is a doctor and he was told several years ago not to show that he is a doctor in the case of an emergenc especially on flights to/from the U.S. because if he can't help cause in case of missing equipment, medicine or even if there's no chance to save the patient's life, somebody will always try to get some money out of it and go to court...
He always said that he will do in any case but I don't know whether LH "insures" the doctor whether he can't help or he's doing a fault...
This is no longer the case.
Although any passanger can do whatever they want, the law of the "good samaritan" applies.
This was clearly explained in one of the most respected medical journals called "The New England Journal of Medicine", in its issue
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/346/14/1067
So that you do not have to read the full article I will quote the part where it speaks about liability:
[I]
Medical Liability
In general, airlines are legally liable for gross neglect or willful misconduct during in-flight medical events, as stipulated by international treaties.51,52 The threat of lawsuits is one of the factors that has recently motivated airlines to improve their resources for handling in-flight medical events. To our knowledge, no litigation has been brought to date against a physician who has rendered assistance during an in-flight medical event. Does a physician who is a passenger have a duty to volunteer medical assistance? In the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, physicians do not have a legal duty to render assistance unless there is a preexisting physician–patient relationship. In contrast, many European countries and Australia do impose such a legal obligation.51,52,53 By international law, the country in which the aircraft is registered has legal jurisdiction.52,53,54 However, the country in which the incident occurs or the country of citizenship of the plaintiff or defendant can also have jurisdiction.51,52,53,54
An important step that reduced physicians' concern about liability was taken in 1998, when the Aviation Medical Assistance Act was signed into law.55,56 The act provides limited "good Samaritan" protection to any medically qualified passenger who provides medical assistance aboard an aircraft.55 In addition to being medically qualified, the assisting passenger must be a volunteer, render care in good faith, and receive no monetary compensation. Gifts in the form of travel vouchers, wine, or seat upgrades are not considered compensation. The assisting passenger must also render medical care similar to the care that others with similar training would provide under such circumstances. Physicians should be aware of the provisions of the Aviation Medical Assistance Act and recognize its limitations.[B]