Can You be Sued for Helping a Car Accident Victim?

California’s existing Good Samaritan law emerged from a 2007 Supreme Court decision on Van Horn v Watson. Van Horn was a passenger in a 45 mph crash into a light pole in Los Angeles, and her friend, Watson — fearing that Van Horn was in danger of a fire, or of the car “blowing up” — pulled her from the wreckage.

Van Horn claims she was permanently paralyzed with a spinal injury from the car accident, and submitted that she wasn’t in imminent danger, told Watson she didn’t want to be moved, and that Watson pulled her out of the car “like a rag-doll” by one arm.

In the 2008 trial, the defendant, Watson, won on the ground of immunity under HSC § 1799.102 (or, the most recent version of the California Good Samaritan statute). An appeals decision reversed the court opinion, and the subsequent Supreme Court (4 to 3 decision) as well agreed with the appellate, narrowly defining the situation which allows immunity protections (only) for those “rendering emergency care.”

In their decision, the court’s view was Watson hadn’t medically treated or assisted Van Horn in any way beyond removing her from the vehicle.

The first Good Samaritan law in the United States was passed in California in 1959, prompted by a growing number of medical malpractice suits.

There was concern that medically trained personnel were hesitant to render aid in an emergency and would rather fall back on the Common-law rule to avoid legal liability.

But several incidents occurred — one were several physicians, bystanders to a skier who had broken her leg, refused to care for the victim, fearing malpractice claims. The response was the 1959 California law that was specifically aimed at off-duty medical staff.

All 50 US states now have Good Samaritan laws, but the legal protections they offer vary significantly and, in the most extreme cases, narrow liability protection only to doctors, nurses, EMTs, and other trained medical personnel.

Illinois’s statute is viewed by many as the “worst” for protecting average bystanders from being sued, while California is considered one of the most inclusive as of 2009 when the existing law was amended to clearly protect non-medically trained bystanders acting in good faith.

The country of India is a colorful example of why Good Samaritan laws are needed to enforce car accident safety. Indian streets are awash in all manner of technologies of transport, from horse carts to semi-trucks, and include a significant percentage of more vulnerable bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles.

The crush of pedestrians, traffic, weak infrastructure — and a legal system that allows dangerous homemade vehicles to share the congested roads — results in average yearly car accident deaths of over 230,000 people.

Then in 2012, in a widely reported story, a 15-year-old boy died after being struck by a vehicle. For nearly 45 minutes he pleaded for help, and although many people had paused, stopped, or simply watched, nobody offered help. And this was typical. When police arrived, he had died.

In the same year, Savelife Foundation, a Bloomburg philanthropy, conducted a nationwide study in India and found that 75% were reluctant to help car accident victims and that over 80% cited fears of legal liability and being drawn into the situation resulting in financial obligations.

Their study also found evidence that possibly 50% of accident victims — or over a hundred thousand people a year — might have survived their injuries had they been given immediate care. But the Indian legal system is based on European standards and common law, and it is widely believed that not getting involved keeps one safe from legal liability and hassle. Also present in India is a local/cultural/societal fear of police harassment.

As the stories of bystander inaction grew, in January 2017 India formally passed a Good Samaritan law which covers the most pervasive fears; crucially, the law aims to encourage average, untrained bystanders to render aid to the best of their ability, and in some cases even offers rewards and reimbursements, such as for transporting victims.