Good Samaritan Law: Do you feel protected?

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  1. Do you feel Good Samaritan laws adequately protect you? (see post for full question)

    • 5
      Yes
    • 6
      No
    • 1
      Not sure
    • 2
      Only if the're already dead. (CPR)

14 members have participated

Hi all,

My cohort in our BSN program are doing a group presentation on 3/26/17 on Good Samaritan laws. We are including plenty of peer reviewed articles, but would like to add results of an informal poll here on Allnurses.

The question is:

Do you feel the Good Samaritan laws of your state adequately protect you from legal action if you were to voluntarily render emergency medical care outside of you employment?

We are adding a 3rd option of "only if they are already dead (CPR), because you can't harm a dead person.

We added this because causing actual harm is one of the requirements for negligence.

Thanks in advance for your participation and feel free to add a comment if you have more to share.

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Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.

Yes I do feel it is adequate, and yes I have assisted outside of my job.

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Yes I do feel it is adequate, and yes I have assisted outside of my job.

Same for me, and even if there wasn't a law I would lend aid.

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Good Samaritan laws protect lay people who help others. As a licensed professional you will be held accountable to the extent of your license.

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Specializes in ED.

I do.

The Good Samaritan law in my state is written in a way that covers anyone who provides emergency medical assistance when emergency medical care is not available. The only stipulations are that the assistance needs to be provided in good faith, voluntarily, and without the expectation of compensation. In order to be held liable for providing emergency assistance the act must be proven to have violated standards of reasonable care under the circumstances.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Merged two threads

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Fear of being sued after rendering care in an emergency is completely irrational.

Has anyone ever actually lost their license this way?

How many nurses have been killed on their way to work, struck by lightening?

Can you somehow get HIV or any other STD from a toilet seat?

Please!

If you smoke, or are obese, you are taking a much larger chance with that next cigarette or donut.

There is ample psychological research to show that people are not able to reasonably assess risk.

Example- the additional increase in traffic mortality after 9/11/01. Estimated at 1500 people who died in traffic accidents the following year.

People were afraid to fly, and they drove instead.

Driving has a significantly higher mortality risk per mile than flying.

OK, I will get off my soapbox.

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Thanks for the responses and votes so far, keep them coming.

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Same for me, and even if there wasn't a law I would lend aid.

Same here... I frankly don't care who comes after me or what they have to say about it.

In an Emergency I'll do my best to render aid. I answer to a higher authority at the end of the day. As a more spiritual person I am amply convinced that if something needs to get done in the interests of preserving human life and I know how to do it; failure to do so would earb a conseauence far worse then whatever the legal system can dish out. I am committed to preserving life... Even if they imposed a life sentence for rendering such life saving care, I'd do it.

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I had an enlightening discussion last week with our state's BON general counsel. I share what he said about this once we complete our presentation. Anyway, bumping the thread for more votes. Thanks.

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bumping to top for more votes please. would love to have 30 responses by closing.

Cheers

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