CA Supreme Court:1 Good Samaritans:0

“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
(31) And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
(32) And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
(33) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
(34) And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
(35) And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”

Luke 10:30-37

With the latest ruling from the California Supreme Court, Good Samaritans may be thinking twice before rendering aid. In a 4-3 ruling, the Court ruled last Thursday that a woman who pulled her co-worker from a crashed vehicle may be sued by that co-worker for injuries suffered while she was being rescued.

While California’s Good Samaritan law may not actually have changed, this ruling calls into question the interpretation of the law, and those who might otherwise have rendered aid in an emergency situation may now decide to “pass by on the other side.”

How many skiers, hikers, boaters, mountain climbers, surfers, and other folks (all of whom California has in great abundance) will remain lost or trapped because good folks who might assist now fear lawsuits? How many auto accidents will end up with fatalities?

In emergency situations, when professional medical or rescue personnel are not available, we must rely on each other — the quintessential “kindness of strangers” — for aid. When those strangers have reason to fear expensive and humiliating litigation for offering assistance, what does that say about us as a country, as a society, and as human beings?

Not much, I fear. And that, in itself, speaks volumes.

Stoutcat