Is it true that you can be sued for administering CPR to someone, and not being certified in it?

Question

Yet it's also against the law to not help someone in a time of need, because of the Good Samaritan Law. If these are true, then shouldn't CPR be a requirement in high school to graduate?

Thanks for correcting me. A friend of the family told me this, and I was thinking "Surely that can't be right?" Thanks for clearing it up.

Answer 1

You have it backwards.

It's almost never agains the law to refuse to help someone.
The only exceptions are that some medical professionals and some emergency service professionals (firemen, EMTs) may sometimes be required to help.

The Good Samaritan Law is what protects people if they do choose to help. It doesn't require anyone to help.

The Good Samaritan Laws in most states say that a person cannot be sued for providing reasonable and necessary medical assistance to someone else. But the specific limits of what it protects vary by states, so check your local listings.

Answer 2

You're a little confused on the Good Samaritan law. You cannot be sued for administering CPR and it is NOT against the law to choose not to.

However, if you start CPR and then stop before professional help arrives, then you can be sued.

Ultimately it's your choice to administer CPR. If you choose to do so and something goes wrong, as long as you didn't stop once you started then you are protected by the Good Samaritan law.

Answer 3

Good Samaritan Laws only exist in one state and that is Conneticutt I believe. It states you must help if you are in a position to do so. It would not require for instance a non swimmer to jump in and save a drowing person, only to call for help.

Usually a rescuer can only be sued when they cause more damage than they should have. If you are not certified in CPR and you perform it on a person who would have died, and you cause no more damge you are ok. A court would dismiss the claim if the only argument the person had was that you saved his life but was not certified....that would take a real scumbag.

Answer 4

I think someone else already answered pretty adequetly, but just from my take, here goes:

First off, I'm actually a licensed EMT. It's required for my field in the army.

Good Samaritan law is a protective law for unskilled, untrained, and uncertified people. Basically, if you have no official medical training and attempt to give someone CPR, or in some other way assist someone in danger (For example, if you attempt to pull someone out of a burning car), you cannot be sued due to the Good Samaritan law.

There are exceptions. Blatant carelessness can get you in trouble. So can attempting to do things that are normally only done by skilled personel. For example, if you try to do a cricothy---something or other. (Never could spell that damn word) because you've seen them done on TV, you might find yourself in a little bit of trouble. There's a difference between "helping" someone in need, and performing surgery.

CRP is very well covered under the Good Samaratin law though. It's recommended that you be certified in CPR before administering care though, just for the patients safety. It's a quick class, I think it takes less than a week to do, and it usually covers Heimleich maneuver and some other basic first aid as well. I recommend everyone take it.

As an EMT, and this is true for any medical professional, we no longer fall under the Good Samaratin law. We're trained and certified, so should we screw up something administering care to a patient either on or OFF duty, we can be sued, as well as lose our certification. Truth is, as an EMT it's very dangerous to stop and administer care to someone when off duty, because even the slightest flaw in proceedure and the person can sue. Some people, especially after bad, or life altering accidents, are prone to going for all that they can get out of the incident, including going after the EMT who simply happened to try to help them out. It's sad, but it's very dangerous for a medical professional to help someone when he/she is off the job.

For example, if I pull someone out of a burning vehicle and they suffer a neck injury, or had a neck injury and it is worsened by my action, I can get sued. if I give CPR and crack a rib, I can get sued (Which is completely odd, considering CPR usually does crack ribs, if done properly).

There are other laws that protect medical professionals to an extent, of course, so we're not completely at risk.

Answer 5

HELL YEAH EVEN IF YOU HAVE A CARD AND ARE NOT ON THE CLOCK YOU CAN BE SUED THATS WHY PEPOLE WHO WORK IN THIS FEILD JUST WALK ON BY IF THEY ARE NOT ON THE CLOCK. THEY EVEN TEACH IT IN CLASS.