Good Samaritan Laws

Good Samaritan laws are meant to protect those who come to the aid of others for no other reason than kindness. Good Samaritan laws only help if the rescuer (or would-be rescuer) is acting without any expectation of reward. In other words, if you are getting paid to rescue then you aren't a good Samaritan. Paid rescuers are expected to do their jobs correctly and can be held accountable for mistakes.

Depending on the state, getting rewarded after the fact can also count as expectation of reward. If you help someone at a car accident and then are rewarded monetarily or otherwise, you may be excluded from good Samaritan protection.

In some states, good Samaritan laws only cover medically trained rescuers, while other states extend protection to the general public. The good Samaritan concept is commonly applied in the courts, which means a case going that far may still be ruled in favor of the rescuer who was trying to help. What good Samaritan laws do for rescuers is provide a get-out-of-court-free card. In other words, unpaid rescuers may prevail in court with or without a good Samaritan law, but it's a lot cheaper if they have the protection.

The best way to protect yourself from possible liability when helping others is to always act on behalf of the victim. That may sound obvious, but if your motivation is to be a hero and not to help out a fellow human, then you risk making the types of mistakes not covered by good Samaritan laws.

Here are some good tips for staying out of court:

• Take a CPR and first aid class
• Follow your training
• Use common sense
• Don't do anything you're not trained to do
• Get professional help for the victim
• Do not accept gifts or rewards

Good Samaritan laws do not protect you from everything. It is human nature to make mistakes. Good Samaritan laws take this into account and protect helpful citizens if the mistakes made are reasonable.

Since defining "reasonable" is so difficult -- even those covered under the good Samaritan law may find themselves defending a lawsuit. Luckily, most lawyers make judgments about when to file lawsuits based on an examination of their return on investment. Since the plaintiff doesn't usually pay up front, the lawyer must decide to take the case on contingency. That means "reasonable" is defined by the lawyer. Believe it or not, that's good. It means those lawsuits that will most likely lose in court won't ever get there.

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