Is the Good Samaritan Really Good? A Look into the Possible Harm Caused by Current Good Samaritan Laws

Abstract

As a society, we hope to incentivize others to help those in need. In crucial life-or-death medical situations, we do not want medical professionals to have to take time to consider the potential liability they could assume. In these emergency situations, a doctor’s main preoccupation should not be determining how best to reduce possible liability. The only thing on a medical professionals’ minds should be how to best treat the patient. This desire for incentivizing decisive action is in conflict with tort law, which makes a potential rescuer liable for the possible outcomes of his actions.