Good Samaritan Laws: Your Legal Rights When Helping in an Emergency

Good Samaritan laws, which vary by state, can limit or bar civil liability for people who voluntarily provide emergency assistance. If someone acts in good faith to provide emergency assistance, they may be protected from negligence-based civil liability, depending on the state law and the type of aid provided. However, there are limits to Good Samaritan protections, depending on jurisdiction.

To understand your legal rights and obligations when helping in an emergency, talk to a local personal injury defense attorney.

What Are Good Samaritan Laws?

Good Samaritan laws are legal protections for people who offer help or assistance to individuals who may be sick or injured.

People may avoid offering help or aid to someone who is incapacitated out of concern that the injured person may later blame them and file a lawsuit for causing harm. Good Samaritan laws provide a legal defense to individuals who offer reasonable assistance against such claims of negligence.

The term “Good Samaritan” refers to a biblical story in which a passerby helps a person in need. The story celebrates the person who offers help without any duty to provide aid or expectation of reward.

Good Samaritan and personal injury defense laws vary by state and individual situations. They help you avoid legal repercussions for taking action to help someone in need.

When Do Good Samaritan Laws Apply?

Good Samaritan laws generally apply in emergency situations, where there is a risk of serious injury or loss of life. This could include someone choking in a restaurant, severe trauma in a car accident, or a woman in labor about to give birth.

Good Samaritan laws apply when an individual acts voluntarily and in good faith, without expecting compensation.

In a medical emergency, a passerby may provide emergency care, including CPR, basic first aid, or using an automated external defibrillator (AED) for someone suffering cardiac arrest. Good Samaritan laws may protect the individual from civil liability for injuries caused by negligent acts while giving emergency care, although protections often do not cover gross negligence, willful misconduct, or other excluded conduct under state law.

Limits To Good Samaritan Defenses

Good Samaritan laws provide legal liability protections for injuries caused by ordinary negligence. However, these protections do not apply to certain actions or omissions.

People are still liable for injuries or death caused by willful or wanton negligence, gross negligence, willful misconduct, intentional harm, or a reckless disregard for safety. The exact legal terminology depends on state laws.

Are Doctors and Nurses Good Samaritans?

In some states, Good Samaritan protections apply differently to doctors, nurses, and other trained healthcare professionals than they do to laypeople. This is esecailly true if the care is connected to their employment or exceeds the scope of what the statute covers.

Medical professionals may have a higher standard of care. Medical professionals can fall under Good Samaritan laws if they encounter an emergency outside of work, but protections generally apply only when they act within their scope of training and basic medical standards.

Do You Have a Duty To Rescue?

Good Samaritan laws do not create an affirmative duty to provide help. In most states, you have no duty to rescue a stranger in need. Good Samaritan laws do not create an affirmative duty to provide help. In most states, bystanders have no duty to render aid.

However, a few states do require individuals to provide reasonable assistance to anyone in serious physical danger, including Minnesota and Rhode Island, where a violation is a petty misdemeanor, and Vermont, where a violation is subject to a fine.

Duty To Provide Help for Certain Individuals

Individuals with a special relationship to the victim may be required to provide assistance, including:

• Those responsible for the injury
• Individuals in a special relationship
• After starting to provide assistance

If you cause a car accident, you may have a duty to help others involved, including calling for help. Similarly, if you come upon a car accident and start to provide medical help, you may have a duty to stay until emergency services arrive because you assumed a duty to provide care.

Duty To Report Emergencies or Crimes

A number of states do have a duty to report serious crimes or life-threatening injuries. For example, Hawaii requires bystanders at the scene of a serious emergency to report the accident to emergency services.

Other states require witnesses to violent crimes or sexual assault to report the incidents to law enforcement.

Good Samaritan Laws by State

States take different approaches to Good Samaritan laws, including requirements for people providing aid and the extent of legal protections. The following table provides an overview of Good Samaritan laws by state:

State	What Is Required for Good Samaritan Protection?	Exceptions to Legal Defense	Statutory Citation
Alabama	Act in good faith and remain at the scene	Gross negligence	Ala. Code § 6-5-332
Alaska	Reasonably renders aid without expecting compensation	Gross negligence, recklessness, intentional misconduct	Alaska Stat. § 09.65.090
Arizona	Good faith	Gross negligence	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 32-1471
Arkansas	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful misconduct	Ark. Code § 17-95-101
California	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1799.102
Colorado	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful and wanton acts	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-108
Connecticut	Good faith	Gross, willful, or wanton negligence	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-557b
Delaware	Good faith without compensation	Willful or wanton misconduct, recklessness, gross negligence	Del. Code Tit. 16, § 6801
Florida	Good faith without objection	Reckless disregard of consequences	Fla. Stat. § 768.13
Georgia	Good faith	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Ga. Code § 51-1-29
Hawaii	Good faith	Gross negligence, wanton acts	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-1.5
Idaho	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence	Idaho Code § 5-330
Illinois	Good faith without compensation	Willful or wanton misconduct	745 ILCS 49/10
Indiana	Good faith	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Ind. Code § 34-30-12-1
Iowa	Good faith without compensation	Recklessness, willful or wanton misconduct	Iowa Code § 613.17
Kansas	Good faith	Gross negligence, willful or wanton acts	Kan. Stat. § 65-2891
Kentucky	Good faith	Willful or wanton misconduct	Ky. Rev. Stat. § 411.148
Louisiana	Good faith	Gross negligence, intentional harm	La. Rev. Stat. § 9:2793
Maine	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, recklessness, willful or wanton acts	Me. Rev. Stat. Tit. 14, § 164
Maryland	Without compensation	Gross negligence	Md. Code, Courts & Jud. Proc. § 5-603
Massachusetts	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton acts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112, § 12V
Michigan	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Mich. Comp. Laws § 691.1501
Minnesota	Duty to provide assistance, when safe	Willful, wanton, or reckless acts	Minn. Stat. § 604A.01
Mississippi	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Miss. Code § 73-25-37
Missouri	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton acts	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.037
Montana	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton acts	Mont. Code § 27-1-714
Nebraska	Gratuitously	Willful, wanton, or gross negligence	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,186
Nevada	Good faith	Gross negligence	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 41.500
New Hampshire	Good faith without compensation	Willful or wanton negligence	N.H. Rev. Stat. § 508:12
New Jersey	Good faith	Gross negligence	N.J. Stat. § 2A:62A-1
New Mexico	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence	N.M. Stat. § 24-10-3
New York	Voluntarily without compensation	Gross negligence	N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 3000-a
North Carolina	Voluntarily without compensation	Gross negligence, wanton conduct, intentional wrongdoing	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.14
North Dakota	Good faith without compensation	Intentional misconduct, gross negligence	N.D. Cent. Code § 32-03.1-02
Ohio	At the scene of an emergency	Willful or wanton misconduct	Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.23
Oklahoma	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton wrongs	Okla. Stat. Tit. 76, § 5
Oregon	Voluntarily without compensation	Gross negligence	Ore. Rev. Stat. § 30.800
Pennsylvania	Good faith	Gross negligence	42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8331
Rhode Island	Duty to provide assistance, when safe	Gross negligence, willful or wanton conduct	R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-27.1
South Carolina	Good faith gratuitously	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	S.C. Code § 15-1-310
South Dakota	Good faith	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	S.D. Codified Laws § 20-9-3
Tennessee	Good faith	Gross negligence	Tenn. Code § 63-6-218
Texas	Good faith	Willful or wanton negligence	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.151
Utah	Good faith	Gross negligence, willful misconduct	Utah Code § 78B-4-501
Vermont	Duty to provide assistance, when safe	Gross negligence	12 V.S.A. § 519
Virginia	Good faith	Gross negligence	Va. Code § 8.01-225
Washington	Voluntarily without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Wash. Rev. Stat. § 4.24.300
Washington, D.C.	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence	D.C. Code § 7-401
West Virginia	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence	W. Va. Code § 55-7-15
Wisconsin	Good faith	Gross negligence	Wis. Stat. § 895.48
Wyoming	Good faith without compensation	Gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct	Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-120

Good Samaritan Laws for Drug Overdoses

In response to the opioid crisis, many states have extended Good Samaritan laws to address drug overdoses. These laws protect individuals against civil claims for injuries caused by negligence related to administering naloxone for suspected opioid overdose.

Many states also extend Good Samaritan protections to shield callers from criminal prosecution for drug possession when reporting an overdose. In some states, calling 911 to report a drug overdose can provide limited immunity or a defense against certain low-level drug possession charges.

However, the scope and exclusions vary by state, and these criminal protections may not apply to other criminal offenses or for arrest warrants.

Personal Injury Claims Against Good Samaritans

When you offer emergency aid voluntarily and in good faith, Good Samaritan laws protect you against personal injury claims based on negligence. If the person receiving emergency care later tries to sue you for medical bills, lost wages, or other personal injury damages, you have a legal defense to those claims.

If you are facing civil liability for acting as a Good Samaritan, contact an experienced personal injury attorney for legal advice.