Good Samaritans

"as long as you don't screw up really bad." I feel acting in a panic and pulling someone from a car is a really bad screw up...and the Good Sam act will still cover you if you render medical aid...but will not cover acts or incidents that do not involve medical aid. Removing an injured person from a car when danger is not present is not covered by the Good Sam act.
And unfortunately, everyone can be sued in this country! But this is a sad ending to an accident and no one will be a winner, even if the lawsuit is successful.

I was really upset when I heard the story on the news about the good samaritan getting sued. What is this world coming to? Now we won't be helping each other out because we're afraid that we might lose our house or property from being sued. I don't get it. I hope they work something out to revise the good samaritan law so we can be more protected. This new law will discourage people from helping each other out. We might as well think about charities, and not donate because of fear of getting sued!

I think everyone had the same knee-jerk reaction when they saw this story, but a closer read of what the court said makes it look much more reasonable. Basically, to summarize:

Good Samartain laws protect Medical Professionals, not laypeople
- the point of the law was to protect us when we render medical care in the field
- the point was not to give average people free reign to intervene however they choose in an emergency

We are still protected as long as we remain within our training, acting with reasonable care
- an RN who sees a car accident, and calls 911, immobilizes the C-spine, and gives CPR is still safe
- an EMT who extracts an accident victim from a car is still safe
- an accountant who decides to perform a tracheostomy with a butter knife is not

The girl in the story was likely drunk and acted like a fool
- the story about leaking fuel was contradicted by everyone at the scene, so she was probably making it up

Nobody has said she will actually be liable for anything
- this was a purely technical ruling, not a finding against the girl
- a trial will determine whether or not she acted inappropriately and actually caused a worsening of the initial injury; the plaintiff will have to show both before she has any hope of seeing a dime from her friend

I couldn't have said it better myself.