Legal Risks Identification and Treatment For Bomb Threat and Evacuation Crisis: A Case Study On a Private Hospital In Malaysia

This study investigates legal risks faced by private hospitals during crises of bomb threat and evacuation. It identified legal risks, and current risk mitigations implemented by the hospital to manage the risks and proposed additional risk mitigations. Although hospitals rarely receive bomb threats, the process of evacuating and transferring patients exposes the hospitals to legal risks. This study used the ISO 31022:2020 risk management guidelines for the management of legal risk. The unit of investigation was a private specialist hospital in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. To obtain information on risks and current and proposed legal risk mitigation strategies, the study interviewed the following professionals: Risk Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Commander of Bomb Disposal Unit, Deputy Fire Superintendent, Commander of Hazardous Material Team and Session Court Judge. The legal risks are failure to provide a safe escape route during an emergency; danger or damage caused by unusual danger or risk, occupier's liability claims for criminal acts of third parties; failure of the employer to provide a sufficiently safe system of work to the employee; failure to attend to and treat a non-patient in the emergency; breach of duty of care; failure to gather evidence as per evidence collection method, failure to provide safe temporary shelter to patients and victims, leak of patient medical information during patient transfer. Current and proposed legal risk mitigation strategies are adequate power supply backup and CCTV recording storage during a crisis, evacuation guidelines for safe escape routes, adequate training especially when moving patients during a crisis, creating a good routine system for evidence gathering, person producing the evidence must testify in court, use fire alarm panel to notify the premise owner on the current situation in the building and hospitals emergency respond team must undergo training with Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) of Royal Malaysian Police and Hazardous Material Team (HAZMAT).