Good samaritans are people who decide to help someone else in a situation where that person could suffer an injury or die. They help out of the goodness of their heart.
If you are acting as a good samaritan and something goes wrong, you may fear a lawsuit. The Florida Statutes offer you some protection from lawsuits in this type of situation.
Good Samaritan Act
Florida has a law called the Good Samaritan Act which provides you with protection against liability. It allows that anyone helping out in an emergency situation is not liable to any injuries resulting from the situation and aid provided.
Specifics
The act protects you if you decide to stop offering help or if you should cause an injury in the process of helping. For example, if you are pulling someone out of a car that is on fire and it results in the person breaking a leg, you are not liable for that broken leg.
It is important to note that the law does provide a provision whereby if you stop rendering aid, it should be something most people would have done. For example, if you are helping get people out of a burning building and decide to stop because the fire has advanced too much, this is an example of a decision that most people would have reasonably made. However, the situation may be different if you just decide to stop without good reason.
Medical professionals
The act applies to medical professionals as well, but there may be exceptions. Generally, it is only applicable to those working off duty. It does not protect against malpractice situations, though, as there is a duty of care in those situations.
