Good Samaritan law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Good Samaritan laws)
Jump to: navigation, search


An example of the obligation to help a person is the Argentina law on "abandonment of persons", Articles 106-108 of the Argentine Penal Code, which include the provision in Article 106 "a person who endangers the life or health of another, either by putting a person in jeopardy or abandoning to their fate a person unable to cope alone who must be cared for ... will be imprisoned for between 2 and 6 years".[2]

An example of legal protection without obligation to act: in common-law areas of Canada a good Samaritan doctrine is a legal principle that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for 'wrongdoing'. Its purpose is to keep people from being reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions should they make some mistake in treatment.[3]


The principles contained in good Samaritan laws more typically operate in countries in which the foundation of the legal system is English Common Law, such as Australia.[4] In many countries that use civil law as the foundation for their legal systems, the same legal effect is more typically achieved using a principle of duty to rescue.




In Canada, good samaritan acts are under provincial jurisdiction. Each province has its own act, such as Ontario[6] and British Columbia's[7] respective good Samaritan acts, Alberta's Emergency Medical Aid Act,[8] and Nova Scotia's Volunteer Services Act[9] Only in Quebec, a civil law jurisdiction, does a person have a general duty to respond, as written in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.[10][11]


Protection from liability


New Brunswick and Nunavut do not have Good Samaritan laws.


China is notorious for its poor treatment of good Samaritans. There have been incidents in China, such as the Peng Yu incident in 2006,[13][14] where Good Samaritans who helped people injured in accidents were accused of having injured the victim themselves.


According to China Daily, “At least 10 Party and government departments and organizations in Guangdong, including the province's commission on politics and law, the women's federation, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Communist Youth League, have started discussions on punishing those who refuse to help people who clearly need it.”[16] Officials of Guangdong province, along with many lawyers and social workers, also held three days of meetings in the provincial capital of Guangzhou to discuss the case. It was reported that various lawmakers of the province are drafting a "Good Samaritan" law, which would "penalize people who fail to help in a situation of this type and indemnify them from lawsuits if their efforts are in vain."[17] Legal experts and the public are debating the idea ahead of discussions and a legislative push.[18] On 1 August 2013, the nation's first Good Samaritan law was taken into effect in Shenzhen.[19]


Laws in North America mainly shield from liability those who choose to help in a situation they did not cause; laws in much of Europe[where?] and other countries[which?] criminalize failure to help in such a situation:[20] people in such countries[which?] who do not help someone in peril may be prosecuted.[21]


In Germany, failure to provide first aid to a person in need is punishable under § 323c of the criminal penal code. However, any help one provides can and will not be prosecuted even if it made the situation worse or did not fulfill specific first aid criteria. People are thus encouraged to help in any way possible even if it does not lead to success.[22]


The Finnish Rescue act explicitly stipulates a duty to rescue as a general duty to act and engage in rescue activities according to their abilities. The Finnish Rescue act thus includes a principle of proportionality which e.g. requires professionals to extend immediate aid further than lay persons. Failure to rescue is punishable by the Finnish penal code, section 21, 15 §.


The Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 2011[23] first introduced legislation specifically addressing the liability of citizen good samaritans or volunteers in the Republic of Ireland, without introducing a duty to intervene. This Act provides for exemption from liability for a person, or voluntary organisation, for anything done while providing "assistance, advice or care" to a person who is injured, in serious risk or danger of becoming injured or suffering from an illness (or apparently so). There are exclusions for cases of "bad faith" or "gross negligence" on behalf of the carer, and incidents relating to negligent use of motor vehicles. This Act only addresses situations where there is no duty of care owed by the good samaritan or the volunteer.



United States[edit]

The details of good Samaritan laws/acts in various jurisdictions vary, including who is protected from liability and in what circumstances.[24] Not all jurisdictions provide protection to laypersons, in those cases only protecting trained personnel, such as doctors or nurses and perhaps also emergency services personnel such as trained police, fire and EMS workers.[25]


Most Australian states and territories have some form of good Samaritan protection. In general these offer protection if care is made in good faith, and the "good Samaritan" is not impaired by drugs or alcohol. Variation exists between states, from not applying if the "good Samaritan" is the cause of the problem (NSW), to applying under all circumstances if the attempt is made in good faith (VIC).[26]

Common features[edit]

In some jurisdictions, unless a caretaker relationship (such as a parent-child or doctor-patient relationship) exists prior to the illness or injury, or the "good Samaritan" is responsible for the existence of the illness or injury, no person is required to give aid of any sort to a victim. Good Samaritan statutes in the states of Minnesota and Vermont do require a person at the scene of an emergency to provide reasonable assistance to a person in need.[27] This assistance may be to call 9-1-1. Violation of the duty-to-assist subdivision is a petty misdemeanor in Minnesota and may warrant a fine of up to $100 in Vermont. At least five other states, including California and Nevada, have seriously considered adding duty-to-assist subdivisions to their good Samaritan statutes.[28] New York's law provides immunity for those who assist in an emergency.[29] The public policy behind the law is:


—N.Y. Public Health L. § 3000.[30]


Only first aid provided without intention of reward or financial compensation is covered. Medical professionals are typically not protected by good Samaritan laws when performing first aid in connection with their employment.[34] Some states make specific provisions for trained medical professionals acting as volunteers and for members of volunteer rescue squads acting without expectation of remuneration.[29][35] In Texas, a physician who voluntarily assisted in the delivery of an infant, and who proved that he had "no expectation of remuneration", had no liability for the infant's injuries due to allegedly ordinary negligence; there was "uncontroverted testimony that neither he nor any doctor in Travis County would have charged a fee to [the mother] or any other person under the circumstances of this case."[36] It was significant that the doctor was not an employee of the attending physician, but was only visiting the hospital and had responded to a "Dr. Stork" page, and had not asked or expected to be paid.[36]

If a responder begins rendering aid, he must not leave the scene until it is necessary to call for needed medical assistance, a rescuer of equal or higher ability takes over, or continuing to give aid is unsafe.[37] The responder is not legally liable for any harm to the person assisted, as long as the responder acted rationally, in good faith and in accordance with their level of training.[38]



Implied consent[edit]

Consent may be implied if an unattended patient is unconscious, delusional, intoxicated or deemed mentally unfit to make decisions regarding his or her safety, or if the responder has a reasonable belief that this was so; courts tend to be very forgiving in adjudicating this, under the legal fiction that "peril invites rescue" (as in the rescue doctrine).[39] The test in most jurisdictions is that of the 'average, reasonable person'. To illustrate, would the average, reasonable person in any of the states described above consent to receiving assistance in these circumstances if able to make a decision?


Parental consent[edit]


Laws for first responders only[edit]


Comparison with duty to rescue[edit]



In popular culture[edit]

A Good Samaritan law was featured in the May 1998 series finale of the popular NBC situation comedy Seinfeld, in which the show's four main characters were all prosecuted and sentenced to one year in jail for making fun of (rather than helping) a fat man (John Pinette) who was getting robbed at gunpoint.[46] In reality, while Massachusetts (where the fictional crime was committed) does have a law requiring passersby to report a crime in progress, the most stringent punishment the characters could have suffered under those circumstances would have been a $500–2,500 fine (assuming they were prosecuted under state law); however, the sentence couldn't have resulted in the telling of all of the other horrible things described by the witnesses: In addition, the phrase "good Samaritan law," when used in Massachusetts, refers only to the civil law definition and does not have any actual relevance to the law under which Jerry Seinfeld and his friends were prosecuted (which would be considered a duty to rescue).[47]

See also[edit]

References and notes[edit]

  3. ^ "Canadian Law website 1". Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  6. ^ "Good Samaritan Act, S.O., 2001 (Ontario E-laws website)". Retrieved 2013-06-07. 
  8. ^ "Emergency Medical Aid Act (Alberta Queen's Printer website". Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  19. ^ Huifeng, He (01 August, 2013). "Shenzhen introduces Good Samaritan law". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 14, 2014. 
  20. ^ Benac, Nancy (1997-09-05). ""Good Samaritan Laws" Common in Europe but Rare in America". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 7.A. ISSN 0749-405X. Retrieved 2010-01-07.  (Registration Required)
  21. ^ "Online NewsHour: French Legal System - September 3, 1997". Retrieved 2013-03-19. 
  22. ^ "StGB - Einzelnorm". Retrieved 2013-03-19. 
  23. ^ "Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011". Retrieved 2014-02-21. 
  26. ^
  27. ^ "Vermont Good Samaritan Law". Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  29. ^ a b N.Y. Public Health L. §§ 3000-a, 3000-b, 3013 (McKinney 2000); see also NY State Assembly website database of law. Accessed April 8, 2009; last accessed July 25, 2011.
  35. ^ "Colorado Good Samaritan Law". Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  39. ^ "Implied Consent ( website)". Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  41. ^ "Good Samaritan/Fireman's Rule (Connecticut State Legislature website)". Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
  42. ^ Higuchi N (March 2008). "[Good Samaritan Act and physicians' duty to rescue]". Nippon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai zasshi (in Japanese) 64 (3): 382–4. PMID 18434681. [dead link]
  43. ^ "Canadian Law website 2". Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  46. ^ James, Caryn (1998-05-15). "'Seinfeld' Goes Out in Self-Referential Style". New York Times. pp. B1. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  47. ^ "Footnote TV's Mirror Law analysis of the Seinfeld finale and Massachusetts' Good Samaritan Law". Retrieved August 12, 2009. 

External links[edit]