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

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

I think you're supposed to check the persons vitals first. You are supposed to move them if they're not breathing, as otherwise you can't administer CPR.

That said - this is another of those articles where its difficult to claim with any certainty exactly what the circumstances were.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

I think you're supposed to check the persons vitals first. You are supposed to move them if they're not breathing, as otherwise you can't administer CPR.

That said - this is another of those articles where its difficult to claim with any certainty exactly what the circumstances were.

Yep. In this day and age - where everyone has a cell phone, it just doesn't make sense not dial 911 first.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

I think you're supposed to check the persons vitals first. You are supposed to move them if they're not breathing, as otherwise you can't administer CPR.

That said - this is another of those articles where its difficult to claim with any certainty exactly what the circumstances were.

Yep. In this day and age - where everyone has a cell phone, it just doesn't make sense not dial 911 first.

It does if you don't have your phone with you. Not to mention that people often don't act logically when they're under extreme stress.

[LorriQ 0]

Typical for California.

Also typical for the other 49.

- goofy law - I took first aid in college and learned that not only can you be sued for helping - once certified, you can be sued for not helping! Damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Conundrum!

[natty bumppo 297]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

I think you're supposed to check the persons vitals first. You are supposed to move them if they're not breathing, as otherwise you can't administer CPR.

That said - this is another of those articles where its difficult to claim with any certainty exactly what the circumstances were.

Yep. In this day and age - where everyone has a cell phone, it just doesn't make sense not dial 911 first.

It does if you don't have your phone with you. Not to mention that people often don't act logically when they're under extreme stress.

maybe the phone was

a.) flat battery

b.) in a dead spot (can you hear me now)

c.) the 911 operator was really in boise idaho

d.) couldn't spell 911 so was unable to send a text message

e.) the cell phone was at home, or didn't have one (at the cell phone store)

f.) the friends was damaged/lost on vehicle impact

[NickD 203]

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.

link

This is old old news, been that way since the 70's, what you do is this, if you see a guy burning in a vehicle, first thing you do is to hire an attorney to draft up a disclaimer holding you harmless if pulling the guy out tears his shirt or some other catastrophic damage. Have your attorney makes sure the victim understands that, and signs the disclaimer in front of two witnesses. Then it should be okay to pull him out.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Typical for California.

Also typical for the other 49.

- goofy law - I took first aid in college and learned that not only can you be sued for helping - once certified, you can be sued for not helping! Damned if you do and damned if you don't!

Conundrum!

It's really not so much a conundrum. You're tried by a jury of your peers. If they think you acted in a way that any normal human being would have reasonably acted then you're cool. So anyone that's ever in that situation needs to just calm down, assess the situation, and act in a calm, reasonable manner. If you are panicked and can't calm yourself down, then you probably need to remove yourself from the situation the best you can and let someone else take over.

excellent advice.

[DeadPoolX 9]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

Perhaps she should have waited for licensed paramedics to arrive, but in situations such as this, people rarely think logically. It's easy to sit here and judge someone when you haven't been in their shoes.

If I saw my friend get into a car accident and I thought they were in danger, I'm sure in most cases, I'd help out. Yes, helping can mean "calling 911," but at the time of the accident, it's entirely plausible to think your friend is in imminent danger.

I can understand the legality of the situation, but laws and morality (much less friendship) can be entirely different entities. I fail to see the importance of setting such a potentially dangerous precedent. If people know they can be easily sued for assisting others -- even their so-called friends -- the chances of others doing anything to help will sharply plummet.

Why would anyone help another person if they know they can be sued for such actions? I know I wouldn't. I'm not about to risk myself to save someone else if the result is a lawsuit. I doubt I'm alone in this opinion. So let's hope none of us need any help from "John or Jan Doe" out there. If we do, then we're probably screwed.

Edited December 22, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It may have been stupid, but #######? You would sue your friend who was trying to save you?

The friend's heart was in the right place, but not her head. Why didn't she just dial 911 and they would have given her advice on what to do? If I were in an accident...unless I knew exactly what to do in terms First Aid, etc., I would not try to attempt something like moving someone. In fact, every emergency video or booklet I've read going all the way back to grade school is...you never move someone because you can risk permanent paralysis. I suppose the court would have determine why this friend believed that the car was going to explode and secondly, if she was aware of the risk of permanent injury to her friend by moving her.

Perhaps she should have waited for licensed paramedics to arrive, but in situations such as this, people rarely think logically. It's easy to sit here and judge someone when you haven't been in their shoes.

If I saw my friend get into a car accident and I thought they were in danger, I'm sure in most cases, I'd help out. Yes, helping can mean "calling 911," but at the time of the accident, it's entirely plausible to think your friend is in imminent danger.

I can understand the legality of the situation, but laws and morality (much less friendship) can be entirely different entities. I fail to see the importance of setting such a potentially dangerous precedent. If people know they can be easily sued for assisting others -- even their so-called friends -- the chances of others doing anything to help will sharply plummet.

Why would anyone help another person if they know they can be sued for such actions? I know I wouldn't. I'm not about to risk myself to save someone else if the result is a lawsuit. I doubt I'm alone in this opinion. So let's hope none of us need any help from "John or Jan Doe" out there. If we do, then we're probably screwed.

Well we really can't judge the actions of either friend then, really...which is why it will be up to jury to decide whether the friend who pulled the other one out of the vehicle did so reasonably or not.

We need to bring back the show, 911, or make it a mandatory class for high school students on what to do in an emergency.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Typical for California.

Do you ever say anything that isn't an underhanded dig at something or someone?

I've lived there.... have you?

[Heracles 417]

Gotta love the legal system here.

Also typical for the other 49.

Of course. It is such an awesome ruling / law that every state needs to adapt it.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Aficionado

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Gotta love the legal system here.

Also typical for the other 49.

Of course. It is such an awesome ruling / law that every state needs to adapt it.

So if I see you crashed in your car and I pull you out of the wreckage by pulling on your head and I break your neck, you won't mind? You'll just be thankful that rescued you?

[Heracles 417]

So if I see you crashed in your car and I pull you out of the wreckage by pulling on your head and I break your neck, you won't mind? You'll just be thankful that rescued you?

I'll put this another way. In a way that has ruffled feathers here many many times before. Such a case would be thrown out overseas. Ironically certain developed and civilized countries even have laws where you can be prosecuted for not doing anything. Where as a bystander you are required, by law, to assist. But anyway, who cares and what would they know right.

Another victory for those here who are actually honest and caring people. After all, all the great state of California needs is more people who care about others. You guys have enough of those there already, right?

Also another great lesson as a product of this country's fantastic courts, next time I see someone hurt or injured I will just turn a blind eye.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Aficionado

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Gotta love the legal system here.

Also typical for the other 49.

Of course. It is such an awesome ruling / law that every state needs to adapt it.

So if I see you crashed in your car and I pull you out of the wreckage by pulling on your head and I break your neck, you won't mind? You'll just be thankful that rescued you?

You would let someone burn? Compassion my ###.

[Heracles 417]

You would let someone burn? Compassion my ###.

Not the first time we caught out liberal hypocrisy.

The courts have always been the liberals weapon of choice. So naturally they cannot turn around and question them when such absolutely ridiculous and illogical rulings are made.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Aficionado