No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - So Much For The Good Samaritan Law in California.
The California Supreme Court has greatly limited the use of the Good Samaritan Law immunity from liability when the Good Samaritan helps rescue an injured person - but does not render "medical" care.
The WSJ Law Blog, the California Supremes Blog, and the L. A. Times all report on the case.
"In a divided opinion, the court ruled that Lisa Torti — a young woman who in good faith pulled a co-worker from a crashed vehicle after a night of Halloween revelry in 2004 — isn’t immune from civil liability because the care she rendered wasn’t medical. Torti, according to the L. A. Times, allegedly worsened the injuries suffered by Alexandra Van Horn by yanking her “like a rag doll” from the wrecked car on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Van Horn was rendered a paraplegic in the accident." WSJ Law Blog.
California's Health and Safety Code provides that “no person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission.” Please notice that the term "medical" is not in the statutory language.
Why is "medical" care suddenly a requirement for the Good Samaritan Law to shield the defendant? According to the L. A. Times there is no prior case law to support the requirement that the care provided be medical in nature (and how do you distinguish "medical" from "non-medical" in any case.)
I would hope that the court didn't decide the case the way they did because of the terrible injuries. The saying "bad facts make bad law" might be at work here. I can't think of very many court decisions where the court actually added words to a statute, and this is exactly what they seem to have done.
As a public policy issue it makes no sense to protect the good Samaritan for giving medical aid, but not for pulling a person from a burning car. I would hope that the California Legislature will fix this problem. At least three justices dissented from the majority opinion, so all is not lost.
Apparently in California the smart Good Samaritan will watch the victim burn up instead of attempting a rescue, and only apply first aid after the rescue has been accomplished, should here ever be one.
