How the Good Samaritan Law Can Protect You

Many times, when there is an accident, people are afraid to stop and help. There are many different reasons that people are hesitant to help, but one of the most prevalent reasons is that the person is afraid of being sued for their good deed. Thankfully, all 50 states have a Good Samaritan Law in place in place to protect those who are kind enough to offer their help to a person who is facing an emergency.

The Good Samaritan Law will usually protect a person who helps in an emergency situation if they act the same way a reasonable and prudent person would act in the same situation. For instance, a reasonable and prudent person would only move an injured person if that person's life were in danger and moving them would help to save their life. An example of that would be a person in a car accident is injured and the car is on fire. The person may be injured, but leaving them in a car that is on fire would certainly result in death, so, moving the person in this situation would be reasonable and expected.

Another example is that a reasonable and prudent person would be sure to ask a conscious person for their permission before giving any care. If a person is conscious, they have the right to refuse care so we should always ask them if it is okay for us to help if they are conscious. On the other hand, if a person is unconscious, a reasonable person would assume that care is wanted and give care as they know how.

A reasonable and prudent person would always check for any life-threatening conditions before giving further care. If a person is bleeding severely, stopping the bleed would be a priority along with treating the person for shock. Shock is a medical emergency, and needs to be treated by medical personnel immediately.

A reasonable and prudent person would call 9-1-1 or their local emergency response number. They would not hesitate; they would make the call or have someone else do so.

A reasonable and prudent person would also stay with the person who is injured until help arrives to take over. Once you begin caring for a person, you should always continue care until help arrives to take over, preferably until an ambulance arrives on the scene and the EMTs tell you that they can take over. When the ambulance arrives on the scene, they may take a moment or two before they can actually take over care. You should wait until the medical personnel tells you that they are ready.

The Good Samaritan Laws were created to encourage people to help others in an emergency without fear of legal repercussions. These laws will protect a Good Samaritan who uses common sense and only does what they are trained to do in an emergency situation. For example, if you are helping a person and you are not trained in the medical field at all, you are not going to try to perform a tracheotomy on that person. You do not know exactly how to do it, and it would not be reasonable to do so.

It is rare that a non-professional who attempts to help in an emergency situation is actually sued. These non-professional helpers are commonly known as lay-responders. In the rare instance that a lay-responder is sued, the Good Samaritan Laws protect them from any financial responsibility. As long as the lay-responder acts in a reasonable and prudent manner, only provides the type of emergency care that they have been trained to do, uses common sense, does their best to save a life and not cause further harm to the person they are helping, they are covered under the Good Samaritan Law.

In such cases where a lay-responder is deliberately negligent or reckless and causes the person more harm, or when the lay-responder leaves the person after beginning care and before help arrives, the courts do not feel they are protected under the Good Samaritan Laws.

You can find out more about the Good Samaritan Laws in the state you live in by contacting a local legal professional person or checking with your library.

The information in this article comes from a professional CPR and First Aid instructor, as well as the American Red Cross.