Originally Posted by hnechets
Couple of things here.
While some states do have a "Good Samaritan" law, this only, at BEST protects those who render services in good faith from being successfully sued.
It does not prevent some butthead attorney/client from suing one...as I understand it from relatives in the health care business. In other words, one would still have to hire an attorney and take time from one's work to present this defense in a court of law.
At which point, hopefully, the lawsuit would be dismissed. BUT, one would still be out the time and money from going to court to present this defense. And one would not be able to recoup the the costs of this from the butthead bringing the charges, or their lawyer either.
It is exceedingly unlikely that the provider would ever have to appear in court, as the case would be dismissed on motion very soon after it was filed. And, again, this scenario presupposes that some lawyer would be stupid enough to waste his/her time and money pursuing such a case, with its attendant risk of court-imposed sanctions for filing a frivolous action AND the risk of being sued by his/her clients for exposing them to a judgment for the defense costs (to say nothing of the fact that his/her fee will be zero).
Originally Posted by hnechets
Admittedly, this is only what I have heard, so I do not present it as fact. But if true, the care giver is already at high risk no matter what. People are so ungrateful, and so quick to sue for megabucks, who can blame any one for not wanting to subject themselves, their families, and their livelihoods to this nonsense?
Perhaps some attorneys in the medical field have better info on the ins and outs of the "Good Samaritan" law?
It isn't a difficult or esoteric issue. In the context of our discussion, a Good Samaritan would be any medical care professional who volunteers to help someone in need of emergency medical care without being under any duty to care for the patient and without any expectation of compensation. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted Good Samaritan statutes. Although they may vary somewhat in minor details, these laws typically shield a person who provides emergency assistance from civil liability as long as that person was not grossly negligent in providing the emergency care and delivered the care in good faith.
I used the term "urban mythology" seriously, as I believe that's what we're dealing with in this discussion. Health care professionals may fear being sued for doing a good deed for a sick or injured passenger, but I'm confident that their fears are not founded on facts.
I challenge anyone to provide even one single verifiable example of a "good samaritan" health care provider being sued for actions taken in good faith during an in-flight emergency. Give us the case name, city/state, dates, etc. I'll be very surprised if even a single such example proves to be true.