What is my wife's liability exposure as a caregiver for a family friend with terminal cancer and why?

She could be charged with malpractice, if her performance "deviates from the standard of practice," because whether or not she is a licensed care giver, if she is playing that role, she has to comply. Having said that, if she got sued, they would have to prove that her performance, alone, was a cause of damage. The is a bit of a problem with a terminal illness. You might have a lawyer draft a "waiver of liability" for the family members individually to sign.

It's a very good question, and one which is hard to answer. So long as she does not present herself as a trained health care provider, and does not try to do any of the things which a trained person can only do (e.g. administer injections, take blood samples, change the patient's medication without express orders from a doctor, etc.) she probably has no more liability than anyone else. Since this may not be a Wisconsin matter, you might want to consult a lawyer in your own jurisdiction.

Good question. Here's the deal: if there were an injury, someone would have to prove that it was due to negligence on your wife's part, that she failed to act as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances and that her failure caused the injury. On the other hand, proof or no, someone could make an accusation that would be very stressful. Bottom line: she should check with her insurance carrier and insurance agent to make sure she has liability coverage for this. If she does not, she absolutely should get the necessary coverage before agreeing to do this, especially if she's going to be paid for it.

Your wife could be in deep trouble. If anything goes wrong, she could be sued. Since you are still married, any damage award would come out of your martial property. With that many siblings who do not appear to care that much, the likelihood of one of them complaining is close to 100%. There is any issue of whether any of them would have standing to sue, but her homeowner's insurance is not going to pay for an attorney to defend you [a plaintiff's attorney would probably be free, in that the plaintiff only pays if they recover anything]. The cancer victim probably is taking some strong drugs that effect him mentally, so he may image that she did something wrong when she did not She is being very nice and noble to provide care and a home for him to live in, but in more society few good deeds go unpunished.

She would be required to refrain from criminal or tortious misconduct. If medical care is required and she provides such without training or license she may be engaged in criminal misconduct and may be likely to botch it.

It's unlikely, but certainly possible that your wife could make a mistake that might be construed as negligence. Your should take a good look at her homeowner's policy to see if there is negligence coverage.

This isn't a personal injury case so I can answer you question it more a care giver liability question.

She has a duty to use reasonable care and as long as she acts reasonably under the circumstances, she should not have a problem.