Introduction:
In India, innumerable road accidents happen every now and then. Due to these accidents, people end up losing their life owing to severe injuries. As per a report, it was found that over 50% of the victims can be saved from dying if they are given proper hospital facilities within the first hour after the accident that is called the Golden Hour. The Golden Hour is the first 60 mins of care that the patient receives which directly affects the outcome. It is this hour that plays an important role in deciding the morbidity and mortality of the patient.[1]
A Samaritan is a generous person who assists someone in distress or danger, helps the victim to reach the hospital for treatment as soon as possible to save the life of the victim,[2] regardless of the laws of the jurisdiction. He/she helps someone who is harmed or at risk of being injured without expecting payment or a return for their actions and assists a victim in getting to a hospital where they can receive adequate medical care and treatment.[3] In this article, we will have a close look at what the Good Samaritan Law is and much more.
The Good Samaritan Law
The Good Samaritan law empowers a person to voluntarily come forward to provide immediate aid or emergency care to a person hurt in an accident, wreck, or emergency medical condition without expecting remuneration or reward and without any obligation of care or special relationship. This statute protects individuals from civil liability for bodily harm, including death, caused by ordinary negligence.[4] Two important conditions must be met:
- Aid must be given at the scene of the emergency.
- If the “volunteer” has other motives, such as the hope of being paid a fee or reward, then the law will not apply.
Some very common examples of Good Samaritan situations include if someone is experiencing chest pain or someone falls and hits their head on a sidewalk. If a person is lying injured on the road and is seeking help, nobody comes for help because they don’t want to get indulged with the police inquiries and hospital formalities that are mandatory before treatment is provided to the patient, even if the patient is on the verge of death. These days people are already engaged so much in their life, they have no time, and if an endeavor to save someone’s life, lands them in an unwanted situation then who will help? No one! The bystanders have stopped attending to the victims and just pass by, run away or click pictures/ record videos. Posting such content on social media handles is an ongoing trend.
What do the doctors have to say?
Dr. Achal Srivastava stated in an interview that ‘the Samaritan should first find out that whether the victim is moving or not, he/she is conscious or unconscious. The victim should not be given water as that might lead to much more problems like respiratory pneumonia & if the water enters the respiratory system, it may be fatal. Also, the victim should be made to lie straight’.
The Good Samaritan Law in India
The rules for the protection of Good Samaritans provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways were given “force of law” by the Supreme Court of India on March 30, 2016. Karnataka is the first Indian State to enact this legislation. President Ramnath Kovind signed the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Bill, 2016, into law. The majority of people applaud this regulation since it allows Samaritans to avoid legal entanglements and police harassment. Below are a few schemes and provisions for the aforesaid law in India:
Delhi Good Samaritan Scheme
This scheme rewards Good Samaritans with a monetary reward of Rs. 2,000 for assisting road accident victims. The major goal of this strategy is to reduce the period between when an accident occurs and when the victim arrives at the hospital.
West Bengal Good Samaritan Scheme
This scheme rewards good Samaritans with a reward of Rs. 1,500 for assisting road accident victims. The hospitals have been told that they are not to charge the rescuer, or the Good Samaritan, any money for treatment or registration.
Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation During Emergency Situation) Act, 2018[5]
This Act stipulates that a Good Samaritan is not compelled to submit any of his personal information to the hospital, including his name, phone number, address, or other identifying information, even if it is required for the compilation of a Medico-Legal Case (MLC) Form. It further stipulates that a Good Samaritan will not be requested to perform any procedure for the victim or to cover any medical expenditures associated with the victim’s treatment. It further adds that under Sections 9 and 10 of this Act, a Good Samaritan cannot be compelled to submit to a police examination. Until and unless such a Good Samaritan is proven to be an eyewitness to the accident or any other such emergency, he has the right to file a valid complaint with the authority designated by the Government via notification for any grievance against any police officer based on harassment or intimidation. Such authority shall ensure that a departmental inquiry and a disciplinary measure are initiated based on the complaint.[6]
Good Samaritan Fund
The Government of India had agreed to create a fund called The Good Samaritan Fund after protracted discussions in the State Legislature. When alternative services or finances are unavailable, this fund aims to help individuals and families with documented emergency needs. Furthermore, no one should be denied access to adequate medical care due to a lack of resources. Rent, damage deposit, utilities, medical expenditures, child care, transportation, and other urgent necessities may be allowed.[7]
The Good Samaritan Law: Outside India
The Good Samaritan statutes exist in all 50 US states; however, they differ from one state to the next. This does not always include jumping into a burning building to save someone, but rather volunteering to phone 911 or giving someone water if they become faint or disoriented. Good Samaritan rules do not guarantee that no one will file a civil action, but they do reduce the likelihood of someone assisting being sued. If you are the type of person who will step up and help someone in need, it is a good idea to learn about the Good Samaritan regulations in your area. Good Samaritan laws exist in every state. Laws differ by jurisdiction in terms of who the law protects and when people should act in an emergency. The statutes of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, for example, encompass anyone who tries to assist in an emergency.
Conclusion
The Good Samaritan law is a must as millions of lives can be saved if proper treatment in the golden hour and that will only be possible when people will know that there will be no consequences of saving a victim. This law encourages bystanders to help these people without fear if their actions inadvertently contribute to further injury or death. Immediate action by bystanders[8] is critical in emergencies, such as cardiac episodes, as seconds are often a matter of life and death.
In the absence of this law, the Samaritans have to go through a lot to save someone’s life, and thus they will avoid even trying to save somebody’s life. People are not at fault if they avoid helping because after knowing the fact that helping the person will make them suffer later, then why? The Good Samaritan law should be in all the states of India and in the foreign countries too as this law enables all the people to attend to the victims on humanitarian ground, help the people who are in need, and save millions of lives that can be saved in the Golden Hour.
References:
[1] Golden Hour: The Importance of Emergency Medical Care In Motor Vehicular Accidents, legalserviceindia.com, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-6206-golden-hour-the-importance-of-emergency-medical-care-in-motor-vehicular-accidents.html (last visited Nov 10, 2021).
[2] Definition of SAMARITAN, www.merriam-webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Samaritan.
[3] Hopelessly Bad Samaritan, TheFreeDictionary.com, https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Hopelessly+Bad+Samaritan#:~:text=A%20person%20who%20will%20not (last visited Nov 10, 2021).
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Samaritan_law
[5] Error, karunadu.karnataka.gov.in, https://karunadu.karnataka.gov.in/hfw/kannada/Documents/Karnataka%20State%20Good%20Samaritan%20Act%20Eng.pdf (last visited Nov 11, 2021).
[6] Meera Patel, Good Samaritan law in India iPleaders (2020), https://blog.ipleaders.in/good-samaritan-law-in-india/ (last visited Nov 10, 2021).
[7] Catholic Charities Good Samaritan Fund | St. Cloud, www.ccstcloud.org, https://www.ccstcloud.org/services/emergency/good-samaritan-fund (last visited Nov 10, 2021).
[8] Definition of BYSTANDER, www.merriam-webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bystander#:~:text=%3A%20one%20who%20is%20present%20but.
0 Comments