| Orange County Auto Accident Lawyers are in shock | | | | 7. If you see someone choking on a piece of meat in a |
| that the California Supreme Court has severely limited | | | | restaurant and rush to perform the Heimlich maneuver, |
| the protection afforded to Good Samaritans in | | | | don’t bruise their ribs getting the person to cough |
| California. Despite a recent ruling by that court, it is both | | | | up that piece of food. Otherwise, you guessed it. An |
| sad and heartwarming to see that good deeds are still | | | | attorney’s lawsuit may be served on you with your |
| being attempted, even at the risk of life in Orange | | | | next meal. |
| County. | | | | |
| | | | | 8. Then there are those unfortunate EMS helicopter |
| Only days before the Supreme Court decision, a Good | | | | pilots. There has been a rash nationwide of EMS |
| Samaritan female nursing student was trying to help a | | | | helicopters crashing as they transport accident victims |
| disabled driver, and both were walking on the I-5 Santa | | | | from the scenes of their auto accidents to nearby |
| Ana freeway in Orange County when another driver | | | | hospitals. Since the pilot is not rendering medical |
| crashed into the back of a car and shoved it into the | | | | treatment, it’s likely that they can be sued and can |
| two females. One of the female Good Samaritans, the | | | | be found at fault if a judge or jury finds them |
| 20-year-old nursing student was killed. The other | | | | responsible for some negligence in their piloting of their |
| female, a 16-year-old she was helping, was seriously | | | | helicopter. |
| injured. | | | | |
| | | | | 9. Is it safe to open the door for someone? Not if you |
| Now, unfortunately, as a result of a new court ruling in | | | | open the door into their face and cause them an injury. |
| California, if a Good Samaritan in trying to assist | | | | People can still be kind to each other. They just have |
| another does some additional harm to the person they | | | | to be more careful now. |
| are helping, they can be sued by a lawyer on behalf of | | | | |
| the victim they tried to help anywhere in California. | | | | 10. And finally, when you help another person put on a |
| | | | | coat or pull out a chair for someone to sit down, those |
| If you need assistance with a personal injury or | | | | days of playing pranks on friends by hiding the coat |
| wrongful death matter or would like more information | | | | sleeve or pulling the chair out a little too far are gone. |
| on this subject, we invite you to call us at any of the | | | | They never really were Good Samaritan deeds, but |
| numbers easily found on our website at | | | | now they absolutely and positively are not. |
| | | | | |
| The new ruling comes by way of the highest court in | | | | Can a person be sued for not coming to another’s |
| California, the California Supreme Court, which means | | | | aid? Apparently not, according to the California |
| that the only way this interpretation of the law can be | | | | Supreme Court decision. But a person who does |
| changed is by a subsequent ruling by the same court, | | | | come to the aid of another has a "duty to exercise |
| which is unlikely, or by the State Legislature, which, | | | | due care." |
| even though it has its share of lawyers, right now | | | | |
| can’t even agree on a budget. | | | | If you do pull someone from a burning car, here are |
| | | | | some facetious do’s and don’ts: |
| The Court’s 4-3 ruling on December 18, 2008 | | | | |
| comes as a result of an auto accident that occurred | | | | 1) First, do not yank the car accident victim’s arm |
| on Halloween night in 2004. A women was a | | | | out of their socket when pulling someone from a |
| passenger in a car that ran into a light pole at 45 mph. | | | | burning car. Instead, first put on gloves, put on a fire |
| Her friend, who was in the car behind her, pulled the | | | | retardant suit, and then with the flames licking at your |
| first woman by her arm from the wreckage in the | | | | suit, gently apply a neck brace, back brace, full body |
| belief that the car was about to explode and then | | | | brace and with full medical precautions, gently lift the |
| allegedly dropped her. Unfortunately, the woman’s | | | | person from the burning wreckage. In the event, you |
| injuries left her a paraplegic and she sued her friend | | | | see gas seeping from the gas tank and flames getting |
| who pulled her out of the non-exploding car in the | | | | closer to the gas, move faster. |
| belief that the Good Samaritan’s rescue efforts | | | | |
| caused her paralysis. | | | | 2) Once you remove the auto accident victim from the |
| | | | | burning car, do not drop them on the sidewalk. Instead, |
| The Supreme Court was forced to interpret the | | | | gently place them on a warm blanket (not the wet |
| California Good Samaritan law which is in the section | | | | grass where they might catch a cold). |
| of the state code dealing with emergency medical | | | | |
| care and which states, "No person who in good faith, | | | | 3) Immediately, if not sooner, start applying bandages |
| and not for compensation, renders emergency care at | | | | to every part of their body, thus qualifying your actions |
| the scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil | | | | as emergency medical care. If you can do this while |
| damages resulting from any act or omission." | | | | gently lifting them from the burning car, even better. |
| | | | | |
| Interpreting that law, the California Supreme Court held | | | | 4) Request bystanders to take pictures with their cell |
| that the state’s Good Samaritan law only protects | | | | phones of you applying bandages to the personal |
| you from being sued if you render medical care at the | | | | injury victim and acting like a doctor, even if you |
| scene of an emergency. If on the other hand you are | | | | don’t have a medical license. If by chance you are |
| just rendering aid or help in a non-medical way, such as | | | | not a doctor or paramedic, quickly go online, take a |
| pulling someone out of a burning car, you can now be | | | | crash medical course to become a paramedic, and be |
| sued. That doesn’t mean you will be found liable. | | | | sure you pass the test. Then print out your license for |
| That’s for a judge or jury to decide. But the fact | | | | all to see. |
| that you can be sued, means that without insurance to | | | | |
| protect you, you will undoubtedly need an attorney or | | | | 5) Call only the finest medical personnel in the state to |
| lawyer to represent you, you will need to pay that | | | | the scene of the accident in case your 911 call results |
| lawyer his or her attorney’s fees and costs to | | | | in medical malpractice being performed by a newly |
| defend you, which in a typical personal injury case can | | | | licensed paramedic and your call is determined not to |
| cost tens of thousands of dollars. | | | | be an act of administering medical care in an |
| | | | | emergency. Obviously, you will want to get onto the |
| Worse yet, if by chance your actions as a Good | | | | internet with your phone or computer and research the |
| Samaritan cause significant injury and a judge or jury | | | | local medical professionals. If you can’t get onto the |
| of your peers decides that you really botched it when | | | | internet to research who would be the best |
| you took the actions that you took, perhaps in a | | | | emergency personnel to call to the scene, make the |
| mistaken belief that you were doing a good deed, a | | | | 911 call anonymously. |
| court of law could find you responsible for hundreds of | | | | |
| thousands of dollars or millions of dollars if the resulting | | | | 6) If the car that you thought was going to explode |
| injuries are severe. | | | | just doesn’t seem to want to explode, and you |
| | | | | were a little rough in pulling the auto accident victim |
| Whether or not any of these situations were covered | | | | from their car, you may want to call a tow truck driver |
| by the Good Samaritan Law in California to begin with, | | | | to push the car further away as this may prevent |
| it is possible that these situations could also now put | | | | other injuries and help your situation. Just be sure to |
| you into hot water and into court as a possible | | | | first ensure that any resulting explosion doesn’t hurt |
| defendant in a personal injury lawsuit: | | | | any bystanders or the victim you yanked from the car. |
| | | | | |
| 1. Donations of bad food - Have you ever given old | | | | 7) Keep administering medical care to the vehicle |
| canned food to a food drive and failed to look at the | | | | accident victim until medical personnel arrive. Since |
| dates on the cans? What if the food in those cans | | | | you’ve administered medical care, even if you are |
| were beyond the expiration date and causes food | | | | not a doctor, the car or truck or motorcycle accident |
| poisoning? You might be held responsible in such a | | | | victim is potentially now your patient, and there are |
| case, Good Samaritan Law, notwithstanding. Beer that | | | | rules about abandoning patients. |
| is past it’s expiration date probably won’t be a | | | | |
| problem for you but if someone serves it to a minor | | | | 8) In the event the auto or motorcycle accident victim |
| who drinks it and gets into a car accident, the server | | | | you’ve saved is delirious, you may also want to |
| may face a lawsuit. | | | | provide psychiatric counseling to them, which could |
| | | | | conceivably also be considered medical treatment. |
| 2. Donations of organs - Say you are still alive and | | | | |
| donate an organ that fails after it is given to a sick | | | | 9) If weather conditions are bad or it is nighttime, and |
| patient or you give an organ upon your death that | | | | an EMS helicopter arrives at the scene instead of an |
| does no more good to the person it is given to than it | | | | ambulance, in view of the rash of EMS helicopter |
| did for you? Sounds like the deed of a Good | | | | accidents in the U.S. you may want to suggest to the |
| Samaritan. And if you drank too much wine while you | | | | accident victim that he or she walks to the hospital as |
| were alive and your shot liver is given to someone | | | | it may be safer. However, keep applying bandages |
| else upon your death, your estate may regret all that | | | | throughout the walk and again, do not abandon your |
| wine you drank while you were alive if the liver | | | | patient. |
| recipient doesn’t do well with your alcohol soaked | | | | |
| liver. Still, we hope this is not the case. | | | | 10) Proceed only to the hospital in your area with the |
| | | | | best mortality rate. After walking ten or fifteen miles |
| 3. Jumping into a swimming pool to save a drowning | | | | after a horrific car accident, because you stupidly |
| person - If, in pulling that person to the side or lifting | | | | declined medical treatment at the scene, you do not |
| them out of the pool you cause them injury, you can | | | | want to walk your patient into a hospital with a high |
| clearly be sued under this new ruling. And, if you | | | | medical malpractice rate or one with a higher fatality |
| proceed to give the person artificial respiration, but | | | | rate for car accident victims than ninety percent of the |
| botch that as well, or if you botch it so badly, a jury or | | | | other hospitals in the state. |
| judge decides that you weren’t even rendering | | | | |
| medical emergency treatment, a vindictive jury may | | | | The California Supreme Court decision is rewriting the |
| hold you responsible for causing the swimmer’s | | | | rules of liability in auto and car accidents, in motorcycle |
| death or additional injuries, such as brain damage. | | | | and truck crashes and in personal injury situations in |
| | | | | general in the golden state and may make people think |
| 4. What if you’ve been watching too many movies | | | | twice before acting as a Good Samaritan. |
| and you knock a person down or jump onto them to | | | | |
| protect them from being shot by a bank robber running | | | | If you’ve had a personal injury accident in San |
| away and in so doing break their neck? Guess what? | | | | Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs, Rancho |
| You may have just won yourself another lawsuit. | | | | Cucamonga, Santa Barbara, Yorba Linda, Tustin, Lake |
| | | | | Forest, Fountain Valley, Rancho Santa Margarita, |
| 5. And if you swerve to avoid hitting a dog and hit | | | | Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach, |
| another car instead? I hate to tell you, but in this | | | | Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Santa Ana, Orange, |
| situation, courts and insurance companies will almost | | | | Fullerton, Costa Mesa, or anywhere in Southern |
| always find you to be at fault, in the belief that a | | | | California, we have the knowledge and resources to |
| dog’s life has little value (this is not my opinion) and | | | | be your California Personal Injury Lawyer and your |
| if you cause injury to another human just to save the | | | | Southern CA Personal Injury Attorney. Be sure to hire |
| life of an animal, you take the fall. | | | | a California law firm with auto, motorcycle, truck, |
| | | | | bicycle, pedestrian, car, bus, train, boat and airplane |
| 6. If you help someone out of a burning airplane, push | | | | accident experience, wrongful death experience and |
| them out the door into the chute and they take a | | | | insurance law expertise who can ensure you are |
| header onto the tarmac, guess what? Some lawyer | | | | properly represented and get the compensation you |
| may slap you with a lawsuit. | | | | deserve. |
| | | | | |