July 18, 1999: Good Samaritan Laws & Acts. Do They Cover Nurses Volunteering Nursing Care When A Citizen Goes Anaphylactic.
"Off-duty" healthcare professionals renderingEmergency aid are in most cases "covered" by the Good Samaritan Acts.  These are laws enacted in each state that provide some degree of immunity from liability for good faith efforts in giving emergency care.  In this case, a nurse and physician were sued for providing assistance in a volunteer function at a "first-aid" station. Good Samaritan "immunity" was not recognized by the courts.
Boccasile v. Cajun Music Ltd. 694 A 2d 686 - RI (1997)
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com/clinical.cases/071899.htm

Related Court Cases:

Hirpa v. IHC Hospitals, Inc., No. 960180, Filed November 14, 1997. Utah State Courts.
http://courtlink.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/hirpa.htm

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Good Samaritan Laws By State:

Arizona (Phoenix) Good Samaritan Act - Article 4 ARS.#32-1471:"Health care providers and other persons administering emergency aid are not liable. Any health care provider licensed or certified to practice as such in this state or elsewhere or any other person who renders emergency care at a public gathering or at a scene of an emergency occurence gratuitously and in good faith, shall not be liable for any civil or other damages as the result of any act or omission by which person rendering the emergency care, or as the result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care for the injured persons, unless such person, while rendering such care, is guilty of gross negligence."
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/FIRE/cpr.html#GOOD

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Good Samaritan Act (Florida):"Any person, including those licensed to practice medicine, who gratuitously and in good faith renders emergency care or treatment either in direct response to emergency situations related to and arising out of a state of emergency which has been declared pursuant to s. 252.36 or at the scene of an emergency outside of a hospital, doctor's office, or other place having proper medical equipment, without objection of the injured victim or victims thereof, shall not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of such care or treatment or as a result of any act or failure to act in providing or arranging further medical treatment where the person acts as an ordinary reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same or similar circumstances."
http://www.floridamalpractice.com/statgoodsamact.htm

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Good Samaritan Law (Illinois), Save A Life Foundation:"Any person, agency or governmental body certified, licensed or authorized pursuant to this Act or rules thereunder, who in good faith provides emergency or non-emergency medical services during a Department approved training course, in the normal course of conducting their duties, or in an emergency, shall not be civilly liable as a result of their acts or omissions in providing such services unless such acts or missions, including the bypassing of nearby hospitals or medical facilities in accordance with the protocols developed pursuant to this Act, constitute and wanton misconduct."
Save A Life Foundation, Inc.
O'Hare Aerospace Center
9950 W. Lawrence Ave Suite 300
Schiller Park, IL 60176-1216
Phone: (847) 928-9683, Fax: (847) 928-9684
http://www.salf.org/library/good_samaritan_law.aspx

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(Massachusetts) An Act Limiting Liability from the use of Automatic External Defibrillation:"Any AED provider who in good faith renders emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation or automatic external defibrillation, in accordance with his training through a public access defibrillation program, to any person who apparently requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation, shall not be liable for acts or omissions, other than gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, resulting from the rendering of emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation. "
Metropolitan Boston Emergency Medical Services Council, Inc.
25 B Street, Suite A Burlington, Massachusetts 01803
781-505-4367 (voice) 781-272-6967 (fax)
http://www.mbemsc.org/legis/Chapter142.html

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Good Samaritan Law (Missouri):"This legislation applies to physicians, surgeons, registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses, and licensed mobile emergency medical technicians in situations when aid is given in an emergency or accident and occur outside of a health care setting. When any of the above health care providers render, in good faith, emergency care or assistance at the scene of an emergency or accident, no liability may be imposed for any civil damages arising from acts or omissions in rendering such emergency care. There is no protection, however, for gross negligence or willful or wanton acts or omissions. Thus, it should be noted that this legislation is only applicable if the care is rendered without compensation."
http://www.health.state.mo.us/Publications/400-20.html

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Tennessee Good Samaritan Act:"(a) This section shall be known and cited as the "Good Samaritan Law." (b) Any person, including those licensed to practice medicine and surgery and including any person licensed or certified to render service ancillary thereto, or any member of a volunteer first aid, rescue or emergency squad which provides emergency public first aid and rescue services, who in good faith: (1) Renders emergency care at the scene of an accident, medical emergency and/or disaster, while en route from such scene to a medical facility and while assisting medical personnel at the receiving medical facility, to the victim or victims thereof without making any direct charge therefor; or"
http://www.nashfire.org/aed/tennessee_good_samaritan_act.htm

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Washington's Good Samaritan Statute, By Jay D. Matsen, Washington State Fire Fighters' Association:"Over the years people have hesitated involving themselves in an emergency, in fear of being sued. In fact, I am not aware of damages ever being awarded for a person doing the right and humane thing. The Good Samaritan Act has been adopted in over 36 states in the USA. In addition, each state has their own form of Immunity Act(s). These acts are safeguards for bystanders and first responders attempting to perform life saving procedures such as first CPR and first aid. In Washington, the Good Samaritan Act is statutorily defined in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), last revised in 1985, and is as follows:"
PMB 117
1910 E. 4th Ave. Olympia, WA 98506-4632
Phone or Fax: 800-340-8023, Email: comments@wsffa.org
http://www.wsffa.org/goodsam.htm

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Good Samaritan Stories:
http://www.cyberstory.com/CyberStoryText2/GoodSamaritanStories.html

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International Good Samaritan Law:

Good Samaritan acts, BMJ Careers.com:"You might be tempted to walk on by when someone needs your medical help for fear that being a good Samaritan might wreck your career, but this is not the case, according to Anahita Kirkpatrick from the Medical Defence Union You might not yet be battled hardened and confident enough to construct a thoracic drain using a mineral water bottle and a coat hanger, but the compelling weight of moral and professional opinion says that medics should help if they find themselves in an unexpected emergency situation. One of the most frequently offered excuses for walking on by is fear of litigation if something goes wrong or the fear of litigation even if everything goes right medically speaking but the patient dies anyway—always a possibility."
http://careerfocus.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/324/7331/S29

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The Risk of Rescue - The Plight of the Good Samaritan, SARBC Search and Rescue Society of British Columbia:"The biblical parable of the good samaritan is used to teach the virtue of helping someone in need. Does this virtue carry over to our legal system? How would the priest and the Levite be treated in our courts for their unwillingness to assist a fellow traveller on the road to Jericho? There are three main issues when considering the legal situation of a good samaritan: -the legal duty of a citizen to assist someone in need -the compensation for loss or injury, or the rights of a good samaritan -the liability or risk assumed by a good samaritan. Canada is in an interesting position with its two legal systems (civil law in Quebec and common law in the rest of the country) to consider the role of the good samaritan. Developments in other common law jurisdictions, such as the United States, indicate some trends in statutory modifications of the common law. In Europe, under civil law, a great deal on uniformity exists in the good samaritan laws."
http://www.islandnet.com/sarbc/goodsam.html

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Legal Dialogue - Good Samaritan acts, Irish Nurses Organisation:"Last week I was driving to Dublin when I passed a car crash. Just as I was about to turn around to see if I could help, an ambulance pulled up. In the circumstances, I decided to continue on my journey. Should I have stopped? Under Irish criminal law, no nurse is obliged to stop at the scene of an accident. Some countries make it a crime for nurses, doctors and paramedics to refuse to stop at the scene of an accident even when they are off-duty. However Ireland is not one of them."
Headquarters:
The Whitworth Building
North Burnswick Street Dublin 7
Tel: 01 - 6640600 Fax: 01 - 6610466
Email: ino@ino.ie
http://www.ino.ie/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?TabID=187&ItemID=4068&mid=7273

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Is America too dangerous for a 'Good Samaritan' law? Tuesday, September 16, 1997:"ON THE STREETS OF Paris, and other European cities, as we've learned since Princess Diana's fatal crash on Aug. 31, passers-by -- even pursuing paparazzi -- are required by law to assist victims of accidents, to be "Good Samaritans." On the streets of most-towns, U.S.A., passers-by who happen upon an accident -- even physicians -- can look the other way, ignore the victims. We have no legal obligation to assist. Thanks to our English common-law origins, Americans have a legal system strong on individualism, whereas Europeans, whose "civil law" is Roman, prize social solidarity."
http://www.bergen.com/morenews/goodsam19970916.htm

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