Good Samaritan Law in California - A Quick Legal Guide (2024)

As outlined in Health & Safety Code 1799.102, California’s Good Samaritan lawprotects you from civil liability for negligence when:

1. you act in good faith,
2. you are not seeking compensation, and
3. you render emergency medical or non-medicalcareatthe scene of an emergency. ¹

Plus, if you seek emergency help for someone’s drug-related overdose, you will not face criminal charges for drug possession.²

The GSL is designed to encourage bystanders to help in emergency situations.³ Examplesofgood Samaritan-related acts include:

• seeing a car crash into a tree while walking home from work andhelping the injured driver out of the car
• providing“light” medical care to a person afterwatching him fall off a stadium seat at a softball game
• dragging a drowning swimmer out of a lake and performing CPR

OurCalifornia criminal defense attorneys will explain the following in this article:

• 1. Can good Samaritans be sued?
• 2. What about criminal liability?
• 3. Can I get in trouble for reporting a drug overdose?
• Additional reading

1. Can good Samaritans be sued?

The GSL protects you from civil liability if your negligence while providing emergency care caused someone’s injuries.⁴ However, you can be sued if you caused injuries by acting with either:

• gross negligence, defined as a lack of any care or an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation to prevent harm to oneself or to others;⁵ or
• willful or wanton misconduct, which is conduct that is committed with intentional or reckless disregard for the safety of others, or an intentional disregard of a duty necessary to the safety of another’s property.⁶

2. What about criminal liability?

California’s Good Samaritan law is silent on criminal liability. This means that you could technically face criminal charges if you commit a crime in the commission of emergency care.

Consider, for example, you rescue a driver from a car accident. In the course of the rescue, you injure the driver’s leg while dragging him from the car. You stabilize the driver with first aid and call 9-1-1. You then take the driver’s wallet and run off.

Under Health and Safety Code 1799.102, the driver / injured victim could not sue you for his leg injuries. However, authorities could still arrest you for theft.

3. Can I get in trouble for reporting a drug overdose?

UnderCalifornia Health and Safety Code 11376.5, you will not be charged with drug possession or use crimes if you:

1. act in good faith, and
2. seek medical assistance/ emergency medical services for another person experiencing a drug-related overdose.⁷

This law was designed to encourage a witness of a drug-related overdose to:

• call 9-1-1, or
• seek emergency help in a timely manner to save the life of the overdose victim.

Note thatHSC 11376.5 does not protect you from being prosecuted for:

• selling drugs, per HSC 11352, or
• driving under the influence of drugs, per VC 23152.

Additional reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Good Samaritan Laws – Legal Disarray: An Update – Mercer Law Review.
• Beyond Seinfeld’s Good Samaritan Debacle: Protecting Citizens Who Render Care at the Scene of an Accident from Civil Liability – McGeorge Law Review.
• Review and inventory of 911 Good Samaritan Law Provisions in the United States – International Journal of Drug Policy.
  
• The Good Samaritan as a Legal Parable – Nootbaar Institute conference.
• The News Media and the Good Samaritan Statute Controversy: Covering the Ethics of Others – Santa Clara Law Review.

Legal References: