Winter Quarter, 2004
Syllabus

One of the first questions we are usually asked by students and sanitarians alike, is "Can I be sued for doing my job?" The simple answer is yes. Anyone can be sued by anyone for almost anything, anytime. But the simple answer is not sufficient. For whether the suit would be considered valid, would depend upon whether there were adequate grounds for the suit in fact and in law. The real questions is, what are the circumstances and situations in which a sanitarian is involved which could place him at risk. The answer to this question again points out the difficulty in trying to treat legal questions as a mathematical problem with a fixed answer, rather than as the product of a constantly emerging and changing field.

Lesson Objectives

The objectives for this lesson are for you to:

1. Know at the major grounds on which an environmental health practitioner might be sued in connection with his/her conduct of an inspection, and to be able to discuss the legal issues involved with each; and,
2. Understand the legal protections which the practitioner and his/her agency have, and how they might be applied in specific circumstances.

Lesson Assignment

1. Grad: Chapter 15 ’Äî The Public Health Officer's Responsibility and Liability, pp. 231-261.
2. Statutes & Regulations:
• TSCA ’Äî Sections 19 & 20.
• 5 U.S.C.A 7323-7325. Misconduct.
• 18 U.S.C.A. 201 & 1913. Misconduct.
3. Required Readings:
   • Reading #38 - Treser CD, Brown SA. Agency and Personal Liability in Environmental Health, Jounral of Environmental Health, January/Febraury, 1991.
   • Reading #39 - Goldsmith, Francis J., Personal Tort Liability of Environmentalists.
   • Reading #40 - Sikora, Vincent A., A Sanitarian's Constitutional Rights, Ohio Journal of Environmental Health, June, 1980.
   • Reading #41 ’Äì Campbell v. Bellevue, 85 Wn. 2d 1, 530 P2d. 234, En Banc. Jan. 9, 1975
   • Reading #42 - In Re Grievance of Michael Yashko, 415 A.2d. 1322 (1980).
   • Reading #43 - Nathanson v.United States, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 14 ERC 1988 (1980)

Lesson Outline

1. Responsibilities
   1. As a government employee
   2. As a person
2. Liabilities
   1. Misconduct
   2. Tort Liability
   3. Deprivation of Constitutional Rights
3. Protections
   1. Specific Authorization
   2. Respondeat Superior
   3. Sovereign Immunity
   4. Good Faith
   5. Liability Insurance

Lecture Slides

References / Additional Readings

1. Gellhorn E, Levin RM. "Political Controls Overs Agency Actions", Chapter 2 in Administrative Law and Process in a Nutshell, West Publishing Co., 1990, pp. 35-72.
2. Gellhorn E, Levin RM. "The Scope of Judicial Review", Chapter 3 in Administrative Law and Process in a Nutshell, West Publishing Co., 1990, pp. 73-123.
3. Blessing v. United States, 447 F.Supp. 1160 (1978)..

For Extended Degree Students Only

Key Points

Progress Assessment Exercise

Thank you for your participation in this course. Best wishes.