Yesterday, I was messing around in the truck’s center console where I keep one of my trauma kits and I realized I did not know if Tennessee had a “Good Samaritan Law” in the books. After a quick Google search, I found Tennessee annotated code § 63-6-218:
63-6-218. Good Samaritan Law.
(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 that 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, including use of an automated external defibrillator, to the victim or victims thereof without making any direct charge for the emergency care; or
(2) Participates or assists in rendering emergency care, including use of an automated external defibrillator, to persons attending or participating in performances, exhibitions, banquets, sporting events, religious or other gatherings open to the general public, with or without an admission charge, whether or not such emergency care is made available as a service, planned in advance by the promoter of the event and/or any other person or association, shall not be liable to such victims or persons receiving emergency care for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by such person in rendering the emergency care, or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care for the injured person, except such damages as may result from the gross negligence of the person rendering such emergency care.
Always good to double check stuff like this. Although I believe most States have some sort of Good Samaritan Law, it is always better to make sure you are covered and legally safe.
Are you?
A couple of years ago my lady was in NYC when she observed a woman on a bike have a crash. She rushed to give aid.
There were a bunch of people that gathered to watch but nobody else was willing to assist. My lady ordered someone to call 911.
She’s doing all the right things but worried when I’ve of the onlookers tells her she’s doing great. He’s a doctor.
Seems the doctor could get his ass sued off of he assisted so no trained medical would help in an accident. My lady was covered as she didn’t have a current EMT, first responder or medical certificate, but anybody that had any such credentials could be sued.
NYC is just a s*** hole.
OREGON REVISED STATUTES:
30.800 Liability for emergency medical assistance.
(1) As used in this section and ORS 30.805, “emergency medical assistance” means:
(a) Medical or dental care not provided in a place where emergency medical or dental care is regularly available, including but not limited to a hospital, industrial first-aid station or the office of a physician, naturopathic physician, physician assistant or dentist, given voluntarily and without the expectation of compensation to an injured person who is in need of immediate medical or dental care and under emergency circumstances that suggest that the giving of assistance is the only alternative to death or serious physical aftereffects; or
(b) Medical care provided voluntarily in good faith and without expectation of compensation by a physician licensed under ORS chapter 677, a physician assistant licensed under ORS 677.505 to 677.525, a nurse practitioner licensed under ORS 678.375 to 678.390 or a naturopathic physician licensed under ORS chapter 685 and in the person’s professional capacity as a provider of health care for an athletic team at a public or private school or college athletic event or as a volunteer provider of health care at other athletic events.
(2) No person may maintain an action for damages for injury, death or loss that results from acts or omissions of a person while rendering emergency medical assistance unless it is alleged and proved by the complaining party that the person was grossly negligent in rendering the emergency medical assistance.
(3) The giving of emergency medical assistance by a person does not, of itself, establish a professional relationship between the person giving the assistance and the person receiving the assistance insofar as the relationship carries with it any duty to provide or arrange for further medical care for the injured person after the giving of emergency medical assistance. [1967 c.266 §§1,2; 1973 c.635 §1; 1979 c.576 §1; 1979 c.731 §1; 1983 c.771 §1; 1983 c.779 §1; 1985 c.428 §1; 1989 c.782 §35; 1997 c.242 §1; 1997 c.751 §11; 2013 c.688 §8; 2014 c.45 §3; 2017 c.356 §2]
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors030.html
why does b) have to have any wording more than Any person who in good faith?
The rest leaves the door open to interpretation, that if you’re not one of the special class listed, you’re not covered by the law.
I know, I know, I want laws to make SENSE and for people to be INTELLIGENT.
My reaction exactly. Does this means that Joe Average who puts his boy scout (or more recent) first aid training to work, but is not associated with any medical outfit, is not protected? That would be very distressing if true.
I was told during training (at work) that I am protected in NH, but seeing this I should probably check again. (It matters less now; the office no longer exists.)
NV’s law looks just about like that law.