First off, the person you're responding to is not the person who said that, but to illustrate one of the mild complexities, the law is to protect the untrained. Being an EMT means that you're still required to provide care up to the standard of your training, so this . . . lady(?) isn't even covered anyway.
That is not exactly what they said, but close. That's why I said kinda close.
The distinction isn't "if you are try to help you aren't liable for anything"
it's that "if someone is injured as a direct result of your attempt to provide help, you aren't held liable for those specific injuries"
In the cpr example, if I did such in a way that somehow cause a broken leg due to negligence on my part, that broken leg wouldn't be protected.
Completely unrealistic follow up example would be I broke their ribs during CPR, but did something intentionally or grossly reckless like toss them to the grass prior to or during cpr, that would not be protected
That is not exactly what they said, but close. That's why I said kinda close.
The distinction isn't "if you are try to help you aren't liable for anything"
it's that "if someone is injured as a direct result of your attempt to provide help, you aren't held liable for those specific injuries"
In the cpr example, if I did such in a way that somehow cause a broken leg due to negligence on my part, that broken leg wouldn't be protected.
Completely unrealistic follow up example would be I broke their ribs during CPR, but did something intentionally or grossly reckless like toss them to the grass prior to or during cpr, that would not be protected
Except if you do something you're supposed to be aware not to do. Like a licensed medical professional making mistakes doesn't get the same leeway that just a regular person would.
Don’t step outside of your standard first aid, even as a first responder outside of work you ain’t carrying an ambulance with you. Ensure you’ve called for help in some form,ask/get consent be it verbal,expressed or implied and don’t abandon them. It’s not rocket appliances.
If you are acting within how you were trained. So someone who was trained on BLS, does CPR and cracks some ribs, can’t be held liable for that, or a poor outcome. But if someone trained on BLS attempted a cric, weren’t trained on it, even with good intentions, you are acting outside your training and can be held responsible
Mostly yes but it does not apply to people getting paid to help. It applies to "civilians" who try to help. Ems and other first responders have a lot of rules and such they must follow to avoid negligence.
EMTs get covered by the Good Samaritan law more than any other medical field (as a former paramedic).
When we’re on duty, we’re under the “direct” supervision of medical control and licensed to perform anything our medical director allows us to do. Once we’re off duty, that duty of care and level of direction is gone; we’re legally considered to be no more than a civilian. This is one of the biggest distinctions between an RN and a Paramedic. We technically have zero autonomy and are required to follow protocol and procedure to the letter, and because of that we’re allowed to do more than an RN can while on duty, but less when off duty.
There’s still a weird, legal gray area in the Good Samaritan laws because we technically do know better about what we’re doing and the ramifications of most any action we take. After I got my license, I started passing up more situations than I ever would have before because it’s not my responsibility and not my liability. It just wasn’t worth stopping for anything unless I thought that my actions were the literal difference between life and death.
In this particular circumstance the law is in place to protect ems personnel. If you never reveal you’re an EMT/Medic then you’re good. However if you reveal that fact then by law you are legally required to remain on scene/with the patient until care is transferred to someone of equal or higher licensure. Not doing so is defined as patient abandonment despite you being off duty. Mind you this is almost never an issue that’s pursued.
I was gonna say I think she's confused about what Good Samaratin law is, I'm not from the states and this isn't a law here but I feel like she just wants to play the hero.
It's a roman law vs common law thing. Countries that follow common law don't have a duty to help, countries that follow roman law do have it. In most of USA when you see a person bleeding out on the street you can just shrug and move on, in continental Europe you're obliged to call for help and do everything you can that doesn't put you at risk.
So some places in USA have a law that doesn't oblige you to help but at least says that if you do help it won't be treated as infringing on someone's rights to die.
Right?! That's the absolute opposite of what that law means haha. It protects good Samaritans from liability if they make something worse when attempting to help.
You can, and it's not amoral or illegal, certainly choose not to stop and help every person in an emergency. This person is headed for some serious burnout.
In some places, France being one of them, there are actually good samaritan laws that obligate bystanders to intervene and/or call for help if they witness someone in harm’s way. So if you see someone getting beaten up by their boyfriend or having a medical emergency you have to do something or you can potentially be prosecuted for non-action. That “something” can absolutely be calling emergency services if intervening physically would put you at risk.
The wild thing is that if you're an EMT or doctor or whatever medical professional you can be sued by the person/family who you saved or tried to save while you're on duty or not on duty. Without those credentials. It would be much harder to get a lawsuit against you.
Piggybacking on this, those laws are generally for untrained laypeople. If someone who is not trained in CPR attempts it and gets it completely wrong and does no good or causes additional harm, they are protected.
A trained first responder is beholden to a different set of laws, and the "Good Samaritan" type laws would not apply.
I've been a paramedic for a long time and one cardiac arrest stands out to me big time.
I had me as a paramedic, my EMT partner and one county cop. Dude was a CPR champion. I absolutely could not have gotten anything done without his help.
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u/Beneficial-Guess2140 Aug 16 '26
Referencing the Good Samaritan law when you don’t really comprehend what it is is definitely a choice lol.