A "mystery man" jumped into the icy East River on Saturday and helped save a two year old girl from drowning.
Then, he disappeared into the horizon; like Batman. Well not quite. Mystery Man didn't disappear in the Batmobile. Nor did he vanish into the night. He climbed out of the river, got in a cab, and drove off.
And in light of the heroism, New York injury lawyers can't help but ask: What are the "Good Samaritan" laws in New York?
The toddler, Bridgette Sheridan, had been visiting a tourist attraction at the South Street Seaport with her parents when she fell twenty feet into the river below. Although the girl's father, David Anderson, had jumped in to save her, Mystery Man jumped in as well. He helped Bridgette's father stay afloat.
The child was blue and motionless as her father held her on his chest. But when onlookers heard her cry, relief passed through the crowd.
Most states have "Good Samaritan" laws. But these laws aren't "Good Samaritan" laws in the Seinfeld sense of the word, where an onlooker can be jailed for failing to come to the rescue of an endangered individual.
No. The real "Good Samaritan" laws don't punish. Rather, they release the prospect of liability in most cases.
Let's take a stroll through the history of the Good Samaritan laws. Prior to such law, New York personal injury attorneys would have advised an onlooker not to assist someone in danger out of fear of the onlooker getting sued. Common law actually inhibited bystanders from coming to the aid of those in danger since you could actually be held liable for rendering bad help if your rescue attempt was botched. But New York state legislators saw the pressing need for good citizenship and enacted the Good Samaritan Law in 2000. The law spans several provisions of New York public health law and New York education law.
If a rescue attempt is botched, the Good Samaritan can only be held liable if he/she was grossly negligent in inflicting such injuries; assuming that the emergency and rescue efforts were outside a place where there was proper and necessary medical equipment (a doctor's office or hospital, for example). Gross negligence is essentially a voluntary and conscious disregard of the need to use reasonable care. It's definitely more extreme that ordinary negligence, which could be inferred on a slight mistake.
Another element of this law assumes that the Good Samaritan was acting voluntarily without expectation of monetary compensation.
So, Seinfeld fans: Next time you hear the word "Good Samaritan Laws", don't think punishment; think release of liability.
Related Resources
- NY EMT Workers Allegedly Ignore Dying Pregnant Woman (FindLaw's Injured Blog)
- Gross Negligence (LawBrain)
- Find New York Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
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