If you stay within the "Rules" (SOP, FOB, Flight Manual etc) you are legally covered by the organisation you work for; they remain vicariously liable for your actions. If you step outside these Rules you are on your own in a litigious sense.
I have broken the rules and cut a hole in a tree canopy with a rotor disk to rescue a man, it worked so I got a badge to wear. If it hadn't a crew of four could have died and I could have been negligently liable and possibly criminally responsible.
This is often the reason that aircraft captains who make that step beyond organisational responsibility are often threatened or even taken to courts martial.
Great thread