Good Samaritan Law in California Gets Update by That State’s Supreme Court

[This article posted on December 21, 2008. It is posted within the following categories: Politics & The Law, via Michael Douglas, MD, MBA.]

What do you do if you save someone else from a potentially life threatening emergency sitatuation, in good faith of course, but cause injury in the process? Well, if you live in California, you are no longer shielded from certain liability under that state’s Good Samaritan law. Before last week’s ruling in that state, the law on that matter reflected care that could be rendered only in an emergency situation in a mostly generic sense, stating, “no person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission”. But now, if the act of saving a life in this situation is deemed not “medical”, the good sam passerby could be sued.

The high court cited no previous cases involving good Samaritan actions deemed unprotected by the state code, suggesting the challenge of Torti’s rescue effort was the first to narrow the scope of the law. The three dissenting justices argued, however, that the aim of the legislation was clearly “to encourage persons not to pass by those in need of emergency help, but to show compassion and render the necessary aid.”

Justice Marvin R. Baxter said the ruling was “illogical” because it recognizes legal immunity for nonprofessionals administering medical care while denying it for potentially life-saving actions like saving a person from drowning or carrying an injured hiker to safety.

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