You work as a lifeguard for a municipal swimming pool and have to perform cardiac resuscitation on a drowning child. By performing the maneuver, you break two ribs. Will you be held responsible for the child’s fractures?
Me Lambert analyzes the issue by explaining the defense of good Samaritan as well as the obligation to help others.
What is a Good Samaritan?
The origins of the phrase “acting as a good Samaritan” go back to the New Testament, where Jesus tells the story of a passerby who stops to help a wounded person, whose only motivation is good faith to act.
Today, this expression is often used to describe the gesture of citizens who act of their own free will by deciding to provide assistance to people in difficult situations or to help others.
Helping or rescuing others
Do you have an obligation to help someone in a life-threatening situation?
In fact, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms guarantees that every human being has the right to help when his or her life is in danger. Refusing to help a person in this type of situation is therefore a crime and legal consequences could ensue.
What if the life of the individual in question is not in danger or in imminent danger?
The Act does not require you to intervene in a situation where the risks alone constitute harm to physical integrity, without harming the life of the person.
However, it is important to mention that the Government of Quebec encourages its citizens to help each other, particularly through the adoption of the An Act to promote good citizenship and Article 1471 of Civil Code of Québec which provides for a protection for people acting in good faith by helping their fellow citizens. These measures will be detailed a little later in the article using case law records.
Use of this defense at the legal level
The main piece of legislation on which this type of defence is based is article 1471 of the Civil Code. The latter makes it possible to exempt any person who rescues or who disposes free of charge of the property of others for the purpose of helping him and who, at the same time, causes any damage , to the property or to the person rescued.
Let’s take the example of a mechanic who is responsible for changing the tires on a car. In doing so, he lowers a window that falls to the bottom of the door because the system was deficient. He informs the owners of the car and subsequently tries to go up the window, but it gets stuck and breaks. Does the mechanic have to pay for the damage to the vehicle?
This is a real case that the Court had to look at and it concluded that the mechanic, despite the harm caused and the fault committed, had acted in good faith, since the repair of the window was not part of his original mandate. He was therefore considered a good Samaritan and was exempted from all repair costs.
The limitations of this defence
On the other hand, it should be noted that in order to succeed in your appeal, some conditions must be met.
The first part of the article referred to the good faith that should guide and motivate your actions throughout the intervention. This criterion implies that your decision is not motivated by a reason other than to lend a hand to the person in need. It also implies, of course, that the fault must not be intentional. The act causing harm must therefore not be done with the aim of injuring or causing damage.
It is also important to keep in mind that this defense will not excuse all types of fouls.
Indeed, in cases where it is a serious fault, it will be impossible to obtain an exemption and you will have to assume the costs associated with your actions. For example, if serious harm is caused while the rescuer decides to act recklessly and makes decisions that go beyond that knowledge, the court may decide that gross negligence has been committed.
Limits on the obligation to rescue
When you decide to help someone, the law expects you to act to the best of your ability, while respecting your limits. That is, you are expected to act with caution and diligence and with a clear intention to help improve a situation, or to reduce the damage that could result from it. However, it is desirable that you do not act too fearlessly by making drastic decisions when you do not have sufficient knowledge to do so.
In fact, when the Tribunal analyzes your file, it will assess whether a reasonable person in your shoes would have reacted in the same way. Of course, a doctor who stops on the side of the road and is negligent in helping an accident victim will be judged more harshly than if it were the case for a citizen who has not received any first aid training.
Compensation for the Good Samaritan
Are you entitled to compensation for damages you suffered while rescuing someone?
This is the issue that was raised in a case where a woman intervened between two men who were fighting to stop the battle. The woman’s intervention not only resulted in material damage to the property of one of the two men, but the woman also suffered physical damage herself. In this case, the Court ordered the two men to compensate the woman and exonerate her for her actions since she acted in accordance with article 1471 of the Civil Code.
In addition, in most cases, you will indeed be entitled to the reimbursement of your damages through the Act to promote good citizenship. The purpose of this act is to prevent the reluctance to rescue a person in need that some citizens may express for fear of having to bear the costs that would result from the intervention. To do this, it offers compensation for medical expenses as well as the sequelae that would result from your damages suffered. It also offers reimbursement for property losses of up to $1,000. In tragic cases where the rescuer loses his life, compensation will be paid to the family of the deceased.
The next time you see someone in need, don’t hesitate to help them. Remember that the law is on your side. However, it is crucial to emphasize that the law does not require any citizen to put his or her life at risk in order to come to the rescue. You are therefore not obliged to help a person if the situation presents a risk of harm to you or your loved ones.
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