Are You Legally Required To Help Someone Who Is Injured?

Under U.S. common law, a stranger generally has no legal duty to rescue or assist someone who is injured. This means that in most situations, a passerby who sees an injured person and keeps going is not automatically civilly or criminally liable.

Read on to learn key exceptions and protections from liability under Good Samaritan laws. If you have questions about civil or criminal liability as it relates to helping someone who is injured, contact a local personal injury lawyer in your area.

The General Rule: Usually No Duty To Rescue

You are driving down the road and notice that someone on the side of the road is slumped over and appears to be injured. Are you legally required to stop and offer assistance? You might be surprised by the answer, as there can be a gap between what feels ethically right and what’s legally required.

Personal injury law distinguishes between causing harm and merely failing to prevent harm. Consider this example: A passerby sees an individual who appears to be suffering from a drug overdose in a public park but keeps going. This person is often not automatically civilly or criminally liable. A duty to help exists only if a special relationship or circumstance created it.

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Key Exceptions: When a Duty To Help Can Exist

While the general rule is that there is no duty to provide care, there are certain situations in which a duty to help can exist, and a duty can affect whether you can be held legally liable:

• Special relationships. Some relationships that can create a duty to assist include the parent-child relationship, spouses in some contexts, employees and employers, students and teachers, a hotel and its guests, and a care facility and its patients.
• You created the danger. When your actions create the need for emergency aid, you may have a duty to help or to seek help from medical personnel or emergency responders.
• You began helping. If you began rendering aid to another person in need, you may have a duty to continue helping when abandoning the task would worsen the situation.
• Statutory duties exist. Some states impose limited duties to report injuries to the appropriate authorities, such as first responders. These statutes only exist in a small number of states, and the penalties are often limited.

Can You Be Sued for Not Helping?

In most cases, a stranger cannot be held legally liable for refusing to offer medical assistance unless a duty, or special relationship creating a duty, existed.

To prevail in a negligence claim, a plaintiff must prove the following:

• Duty
• Breach
• Causation
• Damages

Without a duty, a lawsuit for refusing to render emergency care will likely fail.

Can You Be Criminally Charged for Not Helping?

Criminal liability is a separate matter from civil liability. Civil cases involve individuals seeking monetary damages; criminal law involves government prosecution of wrongdoing.

In most states, refusing to help a stranger is not a crime. There is no legal obligation to offer assistance in most circumstances.

Real Cases and Illustrative Examples

One of the most common scenarios involves the roadside injury. You see someone hurt on the side of the road or after an accident that you were not involved in. Generally, you’re not legally obligated to help unless:

• You caused the accident
• State law imposes a duty on you to act
• You have a special relationship with the person

If you stop and begin to render aid, then depending on your state’s Good Samaritan law, you may be liable if you act with gross negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct.

Examples where a special relationship creates a duty to assist include situations in which school staff, an employer, or a caregiver had a duty to assist because of a relationship with the injured party.

If you were involved in a car accident and someone in the other vehicle was injured, you could have a duty to help. Or you could face legal liability if you left the scene after causing injury. In this case, it could lead to both civil and criminal consequences.

Good Samaritan Laws: Protection for People Who Do Help

Good Samaritan laws provide a measure of protection for people who voluntarily render aid to others in good faith and provide reasonable assistance.

The purpose of these laws is to encourage people to help when they can, without fear of being sued if something goes wrong. But there are limits. If you are grossly negligent, act with recklessness, or knowingly act beyond your level of competence, you may not be protected.

Most people would probably want to help if they were in a position to do so. Keep a few things in mind:

1. If you caused an injury, stop and get help immediately
2. If you are a bystander to an injury, calling 911 is probably the most helpful action you can take
3. Do not assume that every law follows the same rule
4. Legal obligations can vary depending on your relationship with the injured person, your role, and how the danger arose

Always seek to act with reasonable care in any emergency situation.

Get Legal Help from a Personal Injury Attorney

These situations involving personal injury and whether there is a duty to act can raise several legal questions. If you need help understanding your situation better, contact an attorney. To begin your search for an experienced personal injury attorney, visit the Super Lawyers directory to find a personal injury lawyer in your area.