ABSTRACT
Wide-ranging medicolegal issues have an enormous impact in the work of the pediatric Emergency Department (ED). Large numbers of patients with unselected problems attend in an unplanned way and the doctors are often under enormous pressure to see patients quickly. In the medicolegal sense, any ED is the most vulnerable department in the hospital. Pediatric emergency medicine has added pitfalls, particularly of consent to treatment and confidentiality. The problems are similar in outline in every country and state, although they may differ in detail according to practice and the law. This chapter aims to outline some of the issues faced by all.
