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‘Good Samaritan’ law defined and discussed

Question

We came upon an auto accident a few weeks ago where some people were injured. We called 911 on our car phone and the police, fire department, and paramedics were there promptly. I was wondering this: if we were to have rendered first aid to the accident victims, could we have been held liable if something went wrong?

Penny W.
Almaden Valley

Dear Penny:

Like so many other areas of the law, a simple question does not always lend itself to a simple answer. The answer to your question is that it depends.

It really depends upon all of the facts and the circumstances of the situation. There are two basic areas of the law to be concerned with, the first being "common law" and second, "statutory law."

"Common law" is that body of law that has been established over many years, primarily based upon case law or precedent.

The rule at common law can be found in one of the standard instructions that a trial judge sometimes reads to the jury:

"One who is under no duty to care for or render service to another but who voluntarily assumes such duty, is liable to the other for injury caused by a failure to exercise ordinary or reasonable care in the performance of such assumed duty."

It is important to note that there are now many statutory immunities that apply in particular situations. There are many such immunities, in whole or in part, based upon the conduct of particular persons in emergency situations.

These rules, passed by the state legislature, are often called "Good Samaritan" rules. These rules are based upon the biblical account of the Good Samaritan as told by Jesus in Luke 10, verses 3-37.

The parable involved a Jew going on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho who was attacked by bandits, stripped of his clothing and money, and left lying half-dead beside the road. After at least two people passed by without rendering assistance, a third fellow came along from Samaria.

The Samaritan soothed the victim’s wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and walked beside him to an inn. The next day, the Good Samaritan handed the innkeeper the equivalent of two $20 bills and told the innkeeper to take care of the man.

Based upon this account of tremendous compassion, courage, and sacrifice, many rules have been passed by the legislature to protect many types of individuals.

For example, physicians are protected in many kinds of situations (Business & Professions Code §§2144, 2144.5), nurses (Business & Professions Code §§2727.5, 2861.5); dentists (Business & Professions Code §1627.5); hospital rescue teams (Health & Safety Code §1483); removing food from the throat (Health & Safety Code §28689; first aid volunteers (Government Code §50086); and treatment of students (Education Code §11709).

In order to encourage citizens to render medical services to fellow citizens, and to encourage training and instruction in techniques, the legislature has passed Civil Code Section 1714.2, which provides for immunity from suits in the following situations:

1. person who has completed a basic course which complies with specified standards, and who in good faith renders emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene of an emergency is immune. (Civil Code §1714.2(a).

2. local agency, entity of the state or local government, and any other public or private organization which sponsors, authorizes, supports, finances, or supervises training, is immune under Civil Code §1714.2(c).

3. certified instructor is immune from liability for the acts or omissions of a person who received instruction from him under Civil Code §1714.3(d).

In most of the immunity-from-liability situations discussed above, there are usually exceptions for gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct. In other words, if a person is grossly negligent in rendering assistance in a particular situation, he or she could still be held liable, despite the statutorily-given immunity, in cases of gross negligence.

Does a person have a duty to assist a Good Samaritan? The answer may be yes, based upon the case of Soldano v. O’Daniels, 141 Cal.App.3d 443 (1983). In that case, the operator of a motel/bar refused to allow a Good Samaritan to use the motel telephone to summon police aid for a third person who was being assaulted and who was allegedly killed because of the failure of the police to arrive on time.

The Court said that if a person who has no duty to act fails to assist a Good Samaritan under circumstances which were unreasonable and which did not involve any risk to himself, such person may be liable for damages proximately caused by his inaction to the person whom the Good Samaritan was attempting to assist.

You might also keep in mind that statutes commonly require the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident to stop and render assistance to an injured person. Vehicle Code §20001 is entitled: "Duty to stop at scene of accident; punishment; permanent, serious injury."

It provides in part that the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in jury to any person, other than him- or herself, or in death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall fulfill certain statutory requirements. (Those requirements will be the topic of a future Almaden Times column.)

I hope I have answered your question, Penny. Unfortunately, a simple, pat answer is not always possible. If you have any further questions in this area, you might want to check it out further with your own attorney.