What is a Good Samaritan Statute?
Good Samaritan statutes are laws enacted by the various states that protect healthcare providers and other rescuers from being sued when they are giving emergency help to a victim provided the person uses reasonable, prudent guidelines for care using the resources they have available at the time of the accident. Most states have enacted some form of Good Samaritan or Volunteer Protection law prohibiting a victim from suing a physician or other health care professional for injuries from a Good Samaritan act. To trigger the protection of such an act, several conditions must be satisfied: it must be a volunteer act, the person receiving the help must not object to being helped, and the actions of the rescuer must be a good-faith effort to help. People are rarely sued for helping in an emergency, but the existence of Good Samaritan Laws does not mean that some one cannot sue. Good Samaritan Laws do not provide absolute protection from malpractice claims. Each state has guidelines for profe
