"Good samaritan" statutes: do they protect the emergency care provider?

Abstract

In 1959, California became the first state to enact legislation protecting good Samaritans from tort liability under certain circumstances. While previously a good samaritan giving aid in an emergency could be held liable only if he acted unreasonably, there was no legislative mandate to affirmatively discourage an injured party from bringing suit against the good samaritan. Although few such cases can be documented, the absence of legislative protection was thought to work a serious detriment to the prompt rendition of aid in emergency conditions, since some medical practitioners might refrain from giving emergency aid for fear of being subjected to legal action. In response to this perceived situation, California enacted its legislation to encourage the giving of emergency aid and to “sufficiently allay [the good samaritan's] fears of legal action:”Currently, good samaritan statutes exist in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. These statutes range from the very broad to the very specific, and each is supposedly designed to protect the good samaritan emergency care provider from frivolous litigation. However, developments in recent years have caused commentators to question whether the central purpose behind these statutes—to discourage legal action—has actually been achieved.