Posted on 12/20/2008 1:51:18 PM PST by radar101
Being a good Samaritan in California just got a little riskier.
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a young woman who pulled a co-worker from a crashed vehicle isn't immune from civil liability because the care she rendered wasn't medical.
The divided high court appeared to signal that rescue efforts are the responsibility of trained professionals. It was also thought to be the first ruling by the court that someone who intervened in an accident in good faith could be sued.
Lisa Torti of Northridge allegedly worsened the injuries suffered by Alexandra Van Horn by yanking her "like a rag doll" from the wrecked car on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Torti now faces possible liability for injuries suffered by Van Horn, a fellow department store cosmetician who was rendered a paraplegic in the accident that ended a night of Halloween revelry in 2004.
But in a sharp dissent, three of the seven justices said that by making a distinction between medical care and emergency response, the court was placing "an arbitrary and unreasonable limitation" on protections for those trying to help.
In 1980, the Legislature enacted the Health and Safety Code, which provides that "no person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission."
Although that passage does not use the word "medical" in describing the protected emergency care, it was included in the section of the code that deals with emergency medical services. By placing it there, lawmakers intended to shield "only those persons who in good faith render emergency medical care at the scene of a medical emergency," Justice Carlos R. Moreno wrote for the majority.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
This is verrrrry wrong.
Yeah. It’s a California court. Wrong, but not surprising.
California is a lost cause. The next time I’m there and see an accident I’ll just pass it by and forget it ever happened.
they must have watched seinfeld series finale and got drunk
What a jerk. Someone who sues a person who rescues them from peril deserves to be dead instead.
So if the car is burning you just let them lay there and cook. What if you don’t know if there is danger of burning??? It is sick if your safest course of action in these cases is just to drive on and ignore the victim.
We are out of our freaking minds in the court system.
Just more of the same insanity...
This is chilling, and will result in good Volunteers standing around with their hands in their pockets, refusing to help those in need, for fear of being sued.
I do hope it is overturned on appeal.
During the bumper to bumber traffic yesterday morning (Southern California on the 210 freeway), the guy directly behind me got rear-ended by a tailgaiting idiot. I didn’t stop.
Well, that will kill some people. Plenty of first-aid trained citizens won’t want to risk a lawsuit.
I can easily see us reaching the point where we have concurrent rulings on the books: that we can be sued for helping, as well as sued for not helping.
A good move on your part. But you have to admit trying to help someone and getting your ass sued off is a sad state of affairs.
I am retired now but when I was practicing actively (I have three separate board certifications)I always stopped but did so because I took an oath but I was always concerned something like this would happen. I wonder how many good folks will just drive by now!
LOL, sit tight, we called for the fire extraction rescue team, they should be here within the hour.
next question can you be sued for not helping when you could have ?
Miss Van Horn needs a good B—— slap. She’ll sue anyone she can get her hands on. What is so sad is they all work at a cosmetic counter in a department store. They don’t have anything anyway. Like blood from a stone. Lil miss paraplegic needs to learn to make some cash to support herself and get over everyone else being responsible that her dream to be a make up artist to the stars won’t come through. She choose to get in the car and go drinking and partying with her co-workers that not, but no one is suing her for that.
I guess if your in California the thing to do is cup your hands and whisper into the poor victims ear your gonna die.
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