Calif. Court: Would-be Good Samaritan can be sued

[dustinl15]

Interesting article. Just goes to show that saving someones life can get you sued.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/ap_on_...itan_protection

 

 

LOS ANGELES – Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, the state's high court on Thursday said a would-be Good Samaritan accused of rendering her friend paraplegic by pulling her from a wrecked car "like a rag doll" can be sued.

 

California's Supreme Court ruled that the state's Good Samaritan law only protects people from liability if the are administering emergency medical care, and that Lisa Torti's attempted rescue of her friend didn't qualify.

 

Justice Carlos Moreno wrote for a unanimous court that a person is not obligated to come to someone's aid.

 

"If, however, a person elects to come to someone's aid, he or she has a duty to exercise due care," he wrote.

 

Torti had argued that she should still be protected from a lawsuit because she was giving "medical care" when she pulled her friend from a car wreck.

 

Alexandra Van Horn was in the front passenger seat of a car that slammed into a light pole at 45 mph on Nov. 1, 2004, according to her negligence lawsuit.

 

Torti was a passenger in a car that was following behind the vehicle and stopped after the crash. Torti said when she came across the wreck she feared the car was going to explode and pulled Van Horn out. Van Horn testified that Torti pulled her out of the wreckage "like a rag doll." Van Horn blamed her friend for her paralysis.

 

Whether Torti is ultimately liable is still to be determined, but Van Horn's lawsuit can go forward, the Supreme Court ruled.

 

Beverly Hills lawyer Robert Hutchinson, who represented Van Horn, said he's pleased with the ruling.

 

Torti's attorney, Ronald Kent, of Los Angeles didn't immediately return a telephone call.

[rawhide]

what's one thousand attorneys chained together at the bottom of the ocean

 

 

 

 

 

a good start

 

 

 

sorry AR

 

 

I'm trying to talk my wife into moving out of this state and that's just one of the reasons. With the best intentions of helping someone you can get sued. DAMN

[AR Husker Fan]

what's one thousand attorneys chained together at the bottom of the ocean

 

 

 

 

 

a good start

 

 

 

sorry AR

 

 

I'm trying to talk my wife into moving out of this state and that's just one of the reasons. With the best intentions of helping someone you can get sued. DAMN

Actually, that ruling would probably be the case in most states. Most state have a "Good Samaritan" common law that does the same - you are not obligated to go to a person's aid, but if you do, you are liable or responsible for any harm that arises if you don't exercise due diligence.

 

Also, bear in mind that in this specific case, the plaintiff will have to argue that due diligence was not exercised. That's going to depend on the circumstances. If the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that the plaintiff's life was in imminent danger, then she stands a good chance of winning.

[rawhide]

Definitely understand that. Came upon a accident where a woman had skidded off a road (raining) into an embankment. The impact broke the seatback allowing her to slide into the back seat (mustang). After assessing her, it appeared she had a broken hip/pelvis and possibly a right should/humerus fx. I waited for rescue personnel to arrive rather than attempt to extricate her from the car by myself. There wasn't any immediate danger of explosion, etc at the time. Just tried to calm her and waited, and waited, and waited, seems like forever but was probably only 10 minutes.

 

 

GBR