Good Samaritan Law

johnciall

Something i was wondeirng about recently,

In the states thiers a good Samaritan Law to protect anyone who administers First Aid/assistance from any comebacks due to injury on behalf of the Victim

Does anyone know i theirs anything similar in Ireland?

Our man in Havana

There is not.

drkpower

First, there is no US-wide law on Good Samaritans. Some states have laws that impose a duty to intervene/rescue (I wonder if people would accept that here....?), some states have a full immunity for rescuers/samaritans, others have a law similar to what has been proposed here (a rscuer is not liable unless there is gross negligence). Some states have no statute laws in this regard and rely on common law principles (as we do currently).

Here, we are awaiting the Good Samaritans Bill which is expected to introduce immunity except in the case of gross negligence. But that is not to say that we have no law at all on the subject. The common law position is that a rescuer/samaritan has to exercise reasonable care, and if they do not, they could be liable. If that rescuer is a professional and announces themselves as such ('trust me, Im a doctor etc'), the duty is higher and they are likely to bring themselves within medical negligence principles. The reality is that there do not appear to have been any claims against thouse involved in saving people's lives or rescuing people in emergency situations.

Rescuers/Samaritans who get involved in performing significant treatments/interventions in non-emergency situations, and end up injuring a person, probably deserve all they get!

If you fancy 200 pages of bedtime reading:
http://www.lawreform.ie/2009/report-on-the-civil-liability-of-good-samaritans-and-volunteers.194.html

http://www.lawreform.ie/_fileupload/Reports/Report%20Good%20Samaritan.pdf

nuac

It is a sad reflection on how keen we are in Ireland on litigation that there have been cases of qualified medical people declining to assist in emergencies.

A number of lawyers are partly responsible for this. Some such would advise a client to sue someone if it rains.

drkpower

nuac wrote: »

It is a sad reflection on how keen we are in Ireland on litigation that there have been cases of qualified medical people declining to assist in emergencies.

A number of lawyers are partly responsible for this. Some such would advise a client to sue someone if it rains.

I actually dont think that the lawyers are responsible for this one. The Law Reform Commission report states that they are aware of no cases of professional or non-professional rescuers being sued. The perception that such people get sued in these cases seems to have been generated by a mixture of factors, including the media and the rumour mill in the professions.

It is worth noting that the number of pure (ie. non Good Samiritan) medical negligence actions taken in this country every year is about 500. In the context of the number of people treated per year and the number of adverse incidents reported per year (in the tens of thousands) that is quite a small number. However, doctors seem to be under the impression that they are being persecuted by dodgy lawyers and forced to practice defensive medicine as a result. There is actually no real basis for that fear.

nuac

Drkpower, many people including the medical profession believe there is a claim culture out there.

The army deafness and similar sagas support that. I know doctors who say they would be most reluctant to volunteer their services for that reason.

I have in my time seen many weird and wonderful claims filed by lawyers.

drkpower

nuac wrote: »

Drkpower, many people including the medical profession believe there is a claim culture out there.

The army deafness and similar sagas support that. I know doctors who say they would be most reluctant to volunteer their services for that reason.

I have in my time seen many weird and wonderful claims filed by lawyers.

I have no doubt they believe it; in fact, I know they believe it! My point is that that belief is actually unjustified and is based on the rumour mill within the profession and the media reaction to any dubious legal case. It is actually exceptionally rare for entirely 'weird & wonderful' (and entirely unjustified) medical negligence cases being taken. And, on topic, it seems (according to the LRC) that zero cases have been taken against Samaritans.

I agree with you; doctors and other paramedics are reluctant to come forward in these situations; again, my point is that if their fear is legal consequences, it is in the main, an unjustified fear.