What Is a Good Samaritan Law?
Nurses, you are well aware: the practice of nursing is a practice of providing care for people. Nonetheless, with so much focus on your practice, you owe it to yourself to understand what protections the law provides you outside the scope of your employment or contractual relationship.
Commonly known as the Good Samaritan Law, the Good Samaritan Statute provides immunity to those who provide emergency medical assistance on a donor basis (at no cost) during emergencies as long as the assistance is given at the scene of the emergency or, if an incident inside a hospital or medical facility, prior to the injured person being transported to the hospital by ambulance. Originating out of the Bible, the Samaritan was a person who intervened when he found a wounded man lying in an inhospitable environment between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is said that the Samaritan was the only one to render any assistance, which saved the man’s life. The Good Samaritan Statute derives its name from Biblical scholars who believe the story provides a framework for "self-less" giving. It is designed to provide protection to lay people (non-medical personnel) and medical professionals (doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc.) for good fear of being sued for negligence if they try to provide assistance in an emergency situation. Essentially, if you do not perform according to the standards of care for your profession , you are shielded from liability. You must do two things to ensure protection under the Good Samaritan doctrine: Good Samaritan Laws are judicial constructs and are state-specific. Florida’s Good Samaritan Statute may be found in Florida Statute §768.13 Emergency Medical Care. Of note, as part of tort reform in 2005, the Florida Legislature passed and the governor signed into law changes to Florida Statute §768.13(e). The immunity previously provided to "Good Samaritans" was eliminated and replaced with immunity for those administering AEDs (automated external defibrillators). The change was made to encourage non-professionals to administer AEDs before the arrival of medical personnel. Prior to the change, the statute provided that the lay person was protected from a claim of negligence if he or she rendered emergency assistance with no expectation of compensation for acting, even if he or she was also unconscious and breathing when the emergency personnel arrived. This provision of the statute provided broad protection for the lay person. However, should you as a nurse, intervene in an emergency, you be careful not to intervene using the skills and techniques you use every day as a nurse. So, if you encounter an emergency in public, do not give CPR. At least this is what is suggested is best practice if you are acting on your own. You may call on your facility to send a nurse to the scene if you are acting in the course of your employment.
How Does a Good Samaritan Law Apply to Nurses?
As previously mentioned, there are some variations to Good Samaritan laws that apply to specific professions. One group that is often specifically targeted under these laws is nurses and other health care professionals. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 59 countries in the world have national laws that provide Good Samaritan protection to their nurses, and 80 percent of the 11 million health services professionals in those countries are public sector nurses. In the United States, almost all states exempt registered nurses from liability unless it can be shown that they acted with gross negligence or willful criminal misconduct. Some states put further limits on Good Samaritan protection for nurses by requiring that the nursing services provided be services that the nurses are licensed to perform under state laws. Others limit the conditions under which compensation could not be accepted—for example, one state prohibits any payments paid to the health care professional for responding to an emergency based on other provisions of the law but provides a time limit for this prohibition, and another state precludes compensation for the services unless the professional was already in a "place where [the nurses] could have continued their duty to render services if they had so chosen." Still other states specifically extend Good Samaritan protection to all registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and licensed psychiatric technicians (who hold a different certification than an R.N.).
State-by-State Examples of Good Samaritan Laws
Most of the variations by states are not as stark as those examples, and are just a matter of what level of medical practice can be performed on a "good Samaritan" basis. As reported in the September issue of the American Journal of Nursing, the vast majority of nursing practice acts don’t recognize any level of practice below very basic first aid skills. But as you would expect with the patchwork of nursing practice acts, there are some notable exceptions. Several states do indeed allow higher levels of practice. Some even break it out into three or four levels like the riskiest state laws we discussed in the previous section. If you practice in Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah or Virginia, for example, your practice acts relieve the nurse’s legal responsibility for performing more demanding skills, including defibrillation application, intravenous catheter insertion and IV medications administration, as long as there is no compensation for that duty.
These differences don’t appear to be significant enough to deter a lawyer from filing a claim in a state that specifically permits an otherwise risky duty. But they are worth reviewing so that you know what will likely be expected of you at the scene of the emergency. The probability of complications and resulting liability are higher for higher-level practice, so there is a chance you still could have to deal with liability despite the Good Samaritan laws if your client suffers injury as a result.
There are also some variations in the state laws in how they treat negligence. Many states have protocols in terms of whether and which damages can be awarded, such as over a certain monetary threshold, and whether you as the nurse can seek damages for emotional trauma. Some states even protect volunteer nurses from court costs, stipulating that if the case is lost, the nurse does not have to pay the other side’s court costs. This is complicated by the fact that some employers may have their own policies about whether you are covered under the Good Samaritan law when you are called into action. It’s wise to check with both state laws and your employer’s policies about Good Samaritan lawsuits before venturing out to help someone in need.
Good Samaritan Law Case Studies Involving Nurses
In Nebraska, a nurse was granted immunity from administrative action and lawsuits due to the state Good Samaritan law. In this case, a nurse at Nebraska Methodist Hospital in Omaha was transporting an organ for a transplant when a major accident occurred on I-80 below her. When other rescuers discovered a powerful odor of gas, they meant to enter the vehicle. The nurse pulled the driver from the flaming car. Although she suffered burns requiring hospitalization, she saved the man’s life and saved the life of his donor. Both have fully recovered. This Nebraska nurse essentially made a donation that would allow a critically injured transplant recipient to receive a bone marrow transplant at that designated hospital.
Ohio has the most liberal Good Samaritan law—the Buckeye law. It protects those rendering emergency assistance. A medical resident and graduate assistant volunteered when a man collapsed and fell out of a moving vehicle in Columbus. After being told to go to the graduate assistant’s car, that assistant drove them to the scene. The resident delivered chest compressions until a paramedic arrived. The resident and assistant had to defend their actions in disciplinary meetings, even though a public ombudsman had already issued a positive report. Ohio nurses have immunity—not criminal, civil, or professional disciplinary prosecutions are authorized for physicians or other professionals assisting under the Good Samaritan statute.
Nurse lead Kelly McCoy makes her education dreams come true with Good Samaritan Law Immunity in Arkansas. While driving from Texas A&M University to Forth Worth, Texas, Kelly McCoy saw a truck flip three times down an embankment. She stopped to help. Wounded, Robert M. Rogers, MD, who was a Texas dermatologist at a conference, could not be moved from the vehicle. McCoy and others waited for rescue. She then told Dr. Rogers that she had seen the car flip, so he could stop worrying. He told her that he was also a medical professional. The Good Samaritan law in Arkansas allowed the two to discuss the oncoming storm of challenges—drain an overabundance of fluid from his lungs.
Emergency rescue personnel were just beginning to arrive as the two talked, but McCoy’s foreknowledge—perhaps from film or nursing school—allowed him to guide her in his treatment. McCoy says "When I was helping him, I thought this is what I was trained do, and I just knew I had to do it." Dr. Rogers helped nurse lead Kelly McCoy transfer into Texas Christian University’s nursing program and achieve her career goals. He obtained general permission from the university to visit campus and mentor her.
Potential Risks When a Nurse Acts as a Good Samaritan
As helpful as good Samaritan laws can be, there are possible limitations or risks even for nurses. For example, if a nurse has just finished a shift, and is off duty, the protection of a good Samaritan law likely will not apply. This was the case in Brown v. Platt, 12 P.3d 304 (Colo. Ct. App. 2000). Although Colorado does recognize a good Samaritan law that can protect medical professionals under some circumstances, the nurse in that case had not yet begun her shift when she attempted to save the plaintiff. Accordingly, the appellate court ruled that she did not qualify for the good Samaritan law protections.
Consider an alternative situation where a nurse is on duty in an emergency room, and offers assistance to another person who is not a patient before or during her shift. The question then becomes whether, for this particular hospital, the hospital’s liability limits will apply, or whether the good Samaritan law will apply. In Williamson v. Smith, 90 N.W.2d 42 (Neb. 1958), an injured person refused admission from a hospital. As he was being driven away by his parents, a nurse at the hospital attempted to provide treatment . When the nurse accidentally poked him and caused him to bleed profusely, the hospital could not be held liable by the injured party. In line with Williamson, if a nurse attempts to provide treatment outside of her scope of employment to an individual outside of the facility where she works, she may be protected from liability. However, the line becomes murky in a situation where the nurse is employed by the hospital, but not currently on duty or covering the patient.
The law is also unclear in situations where a nurse provides treatment without permission of the patient. For example, if a nurse tries to render assistance to someone who is allergic to latex and does not have the individual’s consent, and he is injured as a result, the nurse could be found liable. See Koffler v. Polansky, 229 A.2d 776 (Ct. App. 1967)(nurse found liable where she applied latex bandage without permission of mother of allergic child). And a court may find that particularly rough treatment of the person in need of help by a medical professional could also be considered battery.
Nursing Best Practice Good Samaritan Guidelines
To be best prepared for an emergency situation, nurses should be aware of the protections offered by Good Samaritan Laws and of the best practices when assisting in any emergency. Nebraska’s Good Samaritan Act sets forth protections for those who provide emergency care or treatment at the scene of an emergency, but the suggestion and assistance for those in emergency situations should come from and primarily be provided by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. That being said, there are steps that come before and after the Good Samaritan Law that a nurse should follow if he or she does provide assistance at the scene of an emergency to ensure that they remain within the protections of the statute.
Prior to an emergency, a nurse should: (1) know whether there are Good Samaritan Laws in his or her state; (2) make sure that his or her professional liability insurance covers providing Good Samaritan care; (3) register on the online portal with the certifying body, such as the American Heart Association (AHA), as a Healthcare Provider Responder for CPR/AED for healthcare professionals; and (4) know how to operate his or her employer-specific AED, if applicable, and keep the device in working order.
During an emergency, a nurse should: (1) ensure that he or she is qualified to provide medical assistance, such as by having a valid nursing license and current BLS, ACLS, and/or PALS certification; (2) provide assistance consistent with his or her licensure and training; (3) after identifying a potential emergency, summon EMS immediately; (4) educate bystanders and others on CPR and AED use, as well as the proper calling of EMS; and (5) check on the patient’s primary pulse prior to unresponsive and loss of respiration.
Finally, after an emergency, a nurse should: (1) report to EMS as soon as possible so that a report is on file and so that the Good Samaritan nurses can then go to the hospital and get treatment; and (2) supervise and delegate treatment to certified and licensed professionals, as necessary.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
We have explored what Good Samaritan Laws are, the history behind them, the different state laws, obligations of nurses when responding to emergencies, and liability protections offered to nurses. What remains is the importance of Good Samaritan Laws to nurses. Because these laws vary by state, it is important to understand the laws of the state in which they are providing care, and to be aware of the protections available to them as a result of their provision of such care. Nurses operate in a fast-paced environment , with additional challenges faced by travel nurses who may not be familiar with off-site facilities where they may be asked to provide emergency care in the event of a Good Samaritan situation. In addition to having the necessary clinical skills, nurses must also be familiar with the Good Samaritan Laws of the state in which they are practicing. Such awareness can allow the nurse to provide vigilant care to the patient.