'Good Samaritan' can be sued after pulling friend from car wreckage

The same thing happened back in my home town years ago. This guy crashed and his car caught on fire. A Good Samaritan stopped and pulled the guy from the car. The thing is he had a back or neck injury and him being pulled from the car ended up leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The guy ended up suing the Good Samaritan stating he caused him to be paralyzed. This type of outcome will not stop me from helping another person in distress, but it will cause people to start second guessing whether or not to help someone.

Just a side note. I was stationed in Alaska for 4 years and one of there laws caught my eye. Alaska has a Good Samaritan law in which if you see a stranded car or something of that nature, you are required to stop and render assistance. If you drive pass and they can prove it (witnesses) then you can be arrested and tried. As you know Alaska can get bitterly cold and this is one reason the law is there. If you were to break down you could literally freeze to death before help can arrive. I would assume that if there was an accident you would be required to stop and help the best you can.

This type of crap makes me sick. You would think that this Good Samaritan would be looked at as a "hero" for saving them. This world is going straight to hell in a hand basket!!!

Originally posted by george_gaz
What the hell!!!

What would have happened if the car had burst into flames and the person who had wanted to pull the driver from the car stood there and did not act?
Would that have gone down as an omission?

In the criminal law, an omission, or failure to act, will constitute an actus reus (Latin for "guilty act").

Na just don't stand there leave the scene.

This suing someone for helping is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.

Personally the judge that decided this, I would have him stripped from the bench asap due to the fact most people are gonna be upset by this ruling and with the economic problems cali is facing that is the last thing they need to deal with or waste tax payer dollars on.

If anything a counter suit needs to be put into place against the driver of the car saying she caused undo emotional damage to the would be good Samaritan. Possibly endangering the lives of tens of thousands by bringing this law suit up because no one would help anyone in danger after hearing about this. Which in turn over time could potentially cause thousands of unneeded deaths.

It's unfortunate the way the law works, but if the person was say for example suffering from a broken neck and you decided that pulling them out was a viable option, the circumstances would have been worse... maybe if the car was actually burning then and only then would be a time for action...

Unbelievable, these are the headlines where the rest of the world just shakes their head and say "Only in America". It's a chance you take, chances of burning to death or getting injuries by getting pulled out. In any case blaming the person that is trying to HELP you is without a doubt the most rotten thing you can do. I just hope those persons and the people defending them will be in a same situation and burn to death while people stand around doing nothing, cause that's the world they apparently want to live in. Sickening.

reply to post by djvexd


The same goes for Missouri according to my first responder instructor. He said that if you put anything on your car pointing to the fact you are trained in life saving techniques you better pull over or risk someone getting your plate and suing you.

This man is an EMT and will not put anything on his car nor does he stop unless things look very serious because of this. If you are trained and they die or are injured they will also look for ways to pin it on you. My training is for the place I work, the same goes for the people at work. Not only will I be at risk of them suing me but also the company as well as being fired.

The moral here is tread lightly because you are never sure who you can trust. It is bad when you want to help but get screwed in the end.

Raist

The problem isn't the laws, it is the lawyers, and guess what, all judges are ex lawyers. My experience with lawyers is that they become conditioned to ignore right and wrong, and concentrate only making money. The judiciary in this country has far too much power, and lawyers in general have far too much power. This is just another example of how horribly bad our court system is.

This woman needs an injection of common sense. Someone was trying to help her thinking she was in severe danger! I like how the article refers to her as her friend. What kind of friend sues the other one for this kind of thing? I am just about giving up on humanity.

It all boils down to this:

TOO MANY LAWYERS THAT WILL FILE LAWSUITS

TOO MANY JUDGES (LAWYERS) THAT WILL HEAR THE CASES.

Lawsuits over anything. in the last 2 years I have had to spend $2,000.00 on lawyers to defend me from "SUE HAPPY" people. I won all of them but had to pay anyway

People want a free ride and they will do anything to get it.

That is why I chose SANTA CLAWS.... every time I give I get scratched, clawed, cussed..... on and on.

Thats why we need to use the British system of Tort. You sue someone and loose, you pay all fees both yours and theirs. At least it used to be that way. I hope they wern't foolish enough to change it to our standard!!

Zindo

I have to say for all listening:

If you ever come upon me in an accident unable to remove myselft from my car please do everything in your power to get me out.

I would rather die in a wheel chair in 10-20 years than die in a fire anytime.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

There is no "we" or "us"...i wont help anyone..if their drowning ...ohhh well...bye....

I am perfectly conditioned for the illuminati...you should be too....

I'm going to be blunt.
This lady is a *snipping* female dog.
She should be sued for drinking and driving, and and she should be sued for putting the person who saved her in that position.
It's her own fault for getting paralyzed!


[edit on 21-12-2008 by flyindevil]

Originally posted by ZindoDoone
Thats why we need to use the British system of Tort. You sue someone and loose, you pay all fees both yours and theirs. At least it used to be that way. I hope they wern't foolish enough to change it to our standard!!

Zindo

The problem with your idea is that here in Britain we are now awash with "no win, no fee" solicitors. They advertise every single day on TV, usually at the same time as those trash programs with titles like "my daughters in love with my boyfriend, who's her fathers brothers genetically modified twin sister". They're appealing to a certain group of people as you can see. The solicitor sucks up the fees they lose on and it gives them extra incentive to win their cases.

It's getting worse and worse in this country every day, people sue whenever they can. Two weeks ago a car backed into me at a slow speed, it hurt but i wasn't injured and so i didn't bother suing, however lots of people would have.

I hope these "no win, no fee" solicitors disappear, but sadly they're just getting stronger and stronger.

[edit on 21-12-2008 by ImaginaryReality1984]

With all the national exposure this case has had i'm sure a lot more people will think twice before trying to help someone. At least I will. If it's family yes, but i'm not about to ruin my life because someone wants to make personal gains. As unmoral as this sounds sadly this is the example this case is setting.

Well, at least I don't have to renew my CPR and First Aid certifications now. If the court is going to change the rules and screw this person, how do I know they don't change the rules even more if I do provide medical help to someone in an emergency?

reply to post by FredT


next time someone is Minutes/ seconds from death

people shouldnt do anything to help them.

and they can blame the pellecks that launch Law suits again others
who saved their lives.

Legal system is messed up.

bright side
if anytime in future that person needs help, others have a good reason to walk away.

Originally posted by juveous
Well, we are still allowed, but the GSL doesn't protect liability, its on you, and it comes down to if the person wants to sue or not. This ties into the person being rescued perspective. And honestly it then comes down to life over limb, and whether or not they would do the same thing if they were switched roles.

Our situation may be a bit different than yours. We are an interfacility Pediatic Critical Care Transport team. We have two nurses on board and Two EMT's who drive and help out.

The EMT's can and are still required to stop if we are the first on the scene and IF we do not have a patient. We as the primary transport people and without being modest we are trained up to the hilt in advanced life support (albiet pediatrics) and can intubate, place chest tubes, central lines etc. But we are not trained in scene responce. We are not allowed to get out of the vehicle to render aid. In doing so as the risk management attorney stated, we are exposing ourselves and the hospital to liability and even if we were not sued they would consider it within thier rights to terminate us because we put the hospital at risk.

Originally posted by Spock Shock
maybe if the car was actually burning then and only then would be a time for action...

If the car has caught fire... No one would be able to approach the car, let alone, have enough time to reach in and pull someone from the wreckage. Instead of one victim there would be two. Your statement does not make much sense to me.

It is a sad day when you can be sued for helping someone. I guess we will all have to start carrying video recording devices to document our "consent" of :
1) you being able to record the interaction
2) To aid them
3) to prove you were actually conversing with the person needing aid. ... because we all know it will soon become no longer admissible to simply state you had consent to help

Originally posted by FredT

'Good Samaritan' can be sued after pulling friend from car wreckage

FredT, I thought the Good Samaritan law was written just for this...to protect people from being sued when they come to the aid of others in these very situations. Did this take place in a state that does not have a Good Samaritan law?