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311 Comments
- Cararan, on 12/19/2008, -5/+232Ok... I read the article and I'm still confused(All that legal talk). So let me get this straight... If I rescue somebody from a burning building but I pushed them out of the window doing so and they cut themselves from the glass, they can turn around and sue me because of that. Well, if that's the case, somebodies dying. Heck I'll probably get sued for not saving them also.
- nickceleb, on 12/19/2008, -2/+140What happened to that 'good samaritan law'?
- badqat, on 12/19/2008, -1/+126Correct. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
- ImmortalAzrael, on 12/19/2008, -2/+99Who says no good deed goes unpunished?
- sockpuppets, on 12/20/2008, -2/+95I just sued you for thinking about not saving me.
- BeShirtHappy, on 12/19/2008, -1/+78We unfortunately live in a "sue happy" world. Where people sue for the most ridiculous and trivial things. If someone pushes me out of a window to save me from burning to death ... I will say "thank you!"
- KibblesnBitts, on 12/20/2008, -2/+72An excerpt from Liar Liar explains it all:
Greta: Mr. Reede, several years ago a friend of mine had a burglar on her roof, a burglar. He fell through the kitchen skylight, landed on a cutting board, on a butcher's knife, cutting his leg. The burglar sued my friend, he sued my friend. And because of guys like you, he won. My friend had to pay the burglar $6,000. Is that justice?
Fletcher: No!......I would have have gotten him ten. - kayvman78, on 12/19/2008, -1/+61Hey sorry pal, I'd love to help you but I got a mortgage to pay. Looks like you're a goner.. Good luck with everything.
- yanksn6, on 12/19/2008, -1/+58It is also for this reason many of Doctor's have stopped getting license plates stating that they are a doctor. This way if something happens no one will know that there is a doctor there. Personally I feel it goes against the Hippocratic oath that they took to become a doctor, but then again you can't blame them because now a days everyone is looking to sue and catch a big payday break.
- Gareth321, on 12/20/2008, -6/+60Incorrect. You live in a sue-happy country.
- inactive, on 12/20/2008, -1/+51Mr Incredible?
- Rudegar, on 12/19/2008, -1/+50once read about a doctor in a plane (I have had it with these ***** doctors on this ***** plane!)
gave somebody heart massage (because of the person having a heart attack) and in the process bend a rib on the person and was sue'd :S - Mawds, on 12/20/2008, -7/+48Actually they will sue you as they hurt their hand while trying to save you by pushing you out of a window.
Also if anyone diggs me down I will sue them as it causes me stress to see negative diggs.
Stress can kill, so you are attempting to murder me.
That is quite serious. - scoottie, on 12/19/2008, -2/+42its the classic story of performing CPR on someone saving their life and getting sued for cracking a rib, which most of the time if you do CPR right you will crack something a little.
- NYankee2003, on 12/20/2008, -7/+47How would you react if there was a story on digg about this scenario: A guy is driving by and sees a car crashed into a tree with smoke, but no fire coming from the hood. He stops only to find the passenger slumped over the wheel and unconscious. He tries to remove the guy from the car, inadvertently breaking his spinal cord, causing the man who crashed to be paralyzed for life. At trial, an auto expert determines that the car would not have exploded or caught fire and a doctor determines that had the man not been moved, he would not be paralyzed.
Should the the man who tried to help be found liable? Does your opinion change if the guy who crashed was drunk? How about if he was, instead, hit by a drunk driver? What if the guy attempting the rescue was drunk?
How would you feel if you were the paralyzed guy? My guess is you'd want your day in court.
The point is that these are very complicated legal questions and when a state supreme court comes up with a rule, it one day will be applied to facts very different than the initial situation. Our system would not function without rules like this.
My own opinion is that if you proactively decided to undertake a rescue, you assume a duty to do no further harm than would have otherwise happened. - megarobotguy, on 12/20/2008, -1/+40As far as I know America ranks at the top on ridiculous lawsuits.
- ryan83189, on 12/19/2008, -2/+37All of these laws are ridiculous. Doctors are not covered by good Samaritan laws because they actually know what they are doing, hence the reason they direct other people on the scene. I find it absurd that they, and the rest of us, must be negligent (in my opinion criminally) to avoid lawsuits. If you want to sue me because you got hurt when I saved your life I will kindly undo what I have done. What are we to do, get a written statement waiving all rights to sue on the scene? ***** it, I hope all of the people who would sue die in a fire, literally, there is no sense in burdening a hero with frivolous lawsuits.
- LordMalak, on 12/20/2008, -3/+37*****. Lawyers.
- norman619, on 12/20/2008, -1/+30No *****. My firearms training included first aide and CPR. The CPR instructor told us "You aren't required to help anyone if you don't want to. You may be saving a life but in return you may be facing a nasty lawsuit as thanks."
- wdw25, on 12/20/2008, -0/+28Something like this happened to me. I was on the subway and a little kid (maybe 3 years old) and his mom got on and I noticed that the kid wasn't holding onto a rail. So when the train started up the kid fell and I caught him preventing any injury. The mom instead of thanking me reemed me out for the next 5 stops about how I ave to keep my hands off other people's children. I will continue to help people in need but if I ever see that bitch in trouble I will be first in line to kick her while she's down.
- KingGorilla, on 12/20/2008, -0/+28and this is why we don't have super heroes anymore. Are you happy people!!!
- rda1441, on 12/20/2008, -1/+29whoohooo!!!!!!
I'm now legally obligated to not give a crap about the rest of society! Not just obligated by my moral code. - batmanz, on 12/20/2008, -3/+28"Good Samaritan Law? Never heard of it. You don't have to help anybody. That's what this country's all about. That's deplorable, unfathomable, improbable."
-Jackie Chiles - Gareth321, on 12/20/2008, -0/+25I think what JP is trying to say is that immunity should still remain UNLESS IT CAN BE PROVEN THAT THE RESCUER WAS NEGLIGENT.
Now there is NO immunity and one has to prove themselves competent in the situation. - badqat, on 12/19/2008, -0/+24It's going to depend on the specific state said action takes place in. Some states have them, some states do not.
- inactive, on 12/20/2008, -0/+23Evil: I have a question, how do you make free people slaves in their own country?
Satan: Make everything they do illegal, so while technically free, they still owe you everything no matter what they do. - inactive, on 12/20/2008, -6/+29California fails again. What's up with them lately?
- dmcbride6, on 12/20/2008, -1/+23Sooooooo...ASSMAN should now be available?
- OutpostNetwork, on 12/20/2008, -2/+23This happened in the movie The Incredibles. Life imitating art? I think so!
- FreddieD, on 12/20/2008, -0/+20He could have meant it as in "*****! Laywers!" insinuating that lawyers were after him and he needs to flee the scene.
- WoollyMittens, on 12/20/2008, -0/+20They can't sue if they're dead. A corpse is less bothersome than an invalid.
What have we become people. I learned at first aid training that doing anything, even if you make a mistake or two, is better than doing nothing. Now I read here to let the victim die, because I might get sued if I help?
I hope that the lawyer or bureaucrat that came up with this chokes on a pretzel with a large crowd of sheeple around him snapping pictures for youtube instead of helping. - threegroup, on 12/20/2008, -1/+21Thankfully in Pennsylvania we have a comprehensive Good Samaritan law.
- iamdak, on 12/20/2008, -1/+21Observer A is dead.
- sockpuppets, on 12/20/2008, -0/+18Can I have your loot?
- ErickStevenson, on 12/20/2008, -1/+19Really? Being homeless because the guy you just rescued sued you for all your worth is better than letting that guy die? Wish it was that easy. This is why this country is turning to *****. Can't do anything without the fear of being sued.
- BooneFaustus, on 12/20/2008, -1/+18Actually it's true in many states. If someone gets hurt while breaking into your home they can sue you for it. Doubly so if you booby trapped the place. Especially if you use a bear trap or similar device.
- MWeather, on 12/20/2008, -1/+17Don't worry, they can't sue you to death.
- Khast, on 12/20/2008, -1/+17Then again, do you really want someone who does know CPR to help you? If lawsuits like these become prevalent I'll just turn in my First Aid/CPR card and let you ***** die. I'm not about to risk everything I own just because I feel the urge to help an ungrateful *****.
- thegrantman, on 12/20/2008, -0/+16You do assume a duty.
Unless the attempt is malicious or unreasonable,that duty should be protected. - Taiyoryu, on 12/20/2008, -0/+15It doesn't help that Hollywood has dramatized car accidents by making them explode which is counter to reality. I've seen dozens upon dozens of car accidents while commuting, the majority of which did not result in fire, let alone an explosion. Yet, people think the "physics" of movies is how nature works.
- Oatlord, on 12/20/2008, -1/+16Lol lately? Did you just start reading the news?
- jpmoney03, on 12/20/2008, -2/+17The thing is that an expert can determine that car would not have started on fire after the fact of the EMT might have had the same determination as you real time. It really should be a law suit situation only if you are a real dumb ass about the rescue. And I know that is hard to determine but a smoking car should be a no brainier free pass for somebody moving you out of harms way in a careful way.
- shayansanyal, on 12/20/2008, -2/+16Only in this country can you ruin yourself trying to save someone's life. It's no surprise that people walk by rapes, murders, muggings, harassment. Erosion of human empathy spurred on my legal powerhouse lobbies. Pathetic.
Perhaps you should take a minute in the heat of the moment while trying to save someone from getting run over by a truck and ask them to "swear that they won't sue you" and record it on your i-phone so that you can protect yourself from financial ruin. - opticwind, on 12/20/2008, -2/+16Most of us are saying "Now we won't help that guy in the burning building", and that's scary. But you know what's REALLY scary?
One of us might be that guy. - Lax32, on 12/20/2008, -0/+14Its a two sided story.
If I for some reason something happens to me and my heart stops beating, I'd hope that someone comes and does CPR on me.
At the same time, I'd be pretty pissed off if I'm lying there unconscious but still breathing and some guy who has no clue tries to do CPR on me even though I don't need it, then breaks my ribs, punctures one of my lungs, and then kills me/leaves me with massive hospital bills/etc.
I'm not saying either side is right, but I'm not sure its as one sided as people seem to think... - Rikkochet, on 12/20/2008, -5/+19No, it means that you'll be fine, unless the courts determine that you were being a complete idiot in causing that injury. Like the case in the article: the hysterical woman thought the wrecked car was "going to explode", but clearly there was no indication that that was going to happen (you know, like fire and gasoline). The courts said "you may have meant well, but you were being a ***** moron and you're guilty".
If you pull someone from a burning building and you end up dislocating that person's shoulder, you're considered legally protected.
If you want to pull someone from a burning building but you don't like walking on cracks in pavement and the marble in the lobby is too cracked for comfort so instead you drag the person into an adjoining room and throw them out a window where they land in a grease dumpster and drown, then you're probably still on the hook. - Ghengis, on 12/20/2008, -0/+14"2. Suing is not losing a lawsuit."
Maybe not, but it's costing me a *****-load in legal fees that I shouldn't have to pay. Will CA let me counter-sue to cover those costs if I win? - GuanYuber, on 12/20/2008, -0/+14"Hey, I saved your life!"
"You didn't save my life, you ruined my death, that's what you did!"
The weird thing is, when I saw that the first time, I thought, "That sounds like something us Americans would actually do." It was supposed to be funny because it was ridiculous, but it ended up being funny because it was true. - Gareth321, on 12/20/2008, -0/+14There's a law in New Zealand that if someone is in danger, you are reasonably required to provide aid or you could be liable for a lawsuit. Of course, we would never dream of removing rescuer immunity unless it was proven that the rescuer was negligent.
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