Throughout the United States “Good Samaritan” laws are in place to provide legal protection for everyday citizens that choose to help someone that has fallen ill or is injured in an accident, whether roadside or at the office or any other place you could imagine someone needing immediate care. Under these laws you can’t be sued or arrested for “assisting,” as long as you’re acting within reason.
For almost a decade now, I’ve been CPR certified. During my last CPR certification renewal, I also completed a First Aid course that is good for 3 years. As someone who teaches in a gym, I’d like to be ready, just in case. I’m happy to report that it’s training I’ve never had to use.
But a California Supreme Court decision makes me reconsider my Girl Scout-esque preparedness.
A woman pulled her co-worker from a vehicle after a car accident on Halloween 2004. As a result of her injuries, the co-worker was left paraplegic. The woman is being sued for damages for her contribution to the injuries inflicted.
The woman and her lawyer fought the lawsuit arguing her Good Samaritan status.
The Supreme Court has sided for the injured party in a decision that could discourage people from helping those in crisis situations. Essentially, only the medical actions taken are protected under California law. So while you’re OK if you perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver* or apply a tourniquet to gushing wound (knowing help is hours away), if you pull a person out of the middle of the road to administer that care, you can get sued for any damages caused by that act.
From a dissenting judge:
“One who dives into swirling waters to retrieve a drowning swimmer can be sued for incidental injury he or she causes while bringing the victim to shore, but is immune for harm he or she produces while thereafter trying to revive the victim,” [Judge Marvin R.] Baxter wrote. “Here, the result is that defendant Torti has no immunity for her bravery in pulling her injured friend from a crashed vehicle, even if she reasonably believed it might be about to explode.”
Instructors in the courses I’ve taken have always reminded students to follow several rules
- You never move the body when a neck injury is suspected; always suspect a neck injury.
- If the options are a) possibility of a dead body or b) move the injured body to prevent it from being a dead body, you’re better off alive than dead
Because of this legal finding, it appears I’m actually unable to help anyone unless they’ve fallen or landed out of danger and in a bodily position that doesn’t require much shifting before applying my first aid training. Moving a body won’t necessarily be protected as medical care, so I’d be risking civil liability.
Hopefully, the California State Legislature will redefine Good Samaritanism to include all non-medical action required to save a life. Otherwise, it seems that the only crisis safe to handle is applying adhesive bandages to paper cuts.
* The American Red Cross no longer refers to choking victim rescue as the Heimlich maneuver, but as “abdominal thrusts.” I’m told the Heimlich family wanted royalties for use of the name. Seriously.
photo by akeg
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