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President's Message

The Good Samaritan Law

Dr Sam SM Yang

President, HKSEMS

The Good Samaritan law exists as a legal protection to encourage individuals to assist others in life-threatening emergencies without the need to worry about legal liability in case any unintentional mistakes made. Originated from the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, who unconditionally offered help to a stranger in need without prior notion of responsibility or compensation, this law embodies the principle of altruism in society.

 

Good Samaritan laws provide liability protection against "ordinary negligence," which refers to the failure to act as a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances. However, the law does not protect against "gross negligence" or wilful misconduct. Gross negligence refer to a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, leading to a foreseeable risk of serious injury or harm to the person. By providing exemption from liability to those who rescue victims in peril, the Good Samaritan Law removes the concerns about potential legal responsibility that might deter bystanders from offering help to those in life- threatening situation, promoting a culture of helping others.

 

There is currently no good Samaritan law in Hong Kong. The rate of bystander CPR in Hong Kong is relatively low compared to other localities according to a study by Xu et al., 2024. The reason can be due to low prevalence of layperson CPR training. However, even for those who received CPR training, not all people are willing to initiate CPR when they encounter such emergency.  According to a study published by Chair et al., 2014, less than a half of respondents is willing to perform CPR when they encounter a patient with cardiac arrest. The reason could be due to fear of infectious disease, feeling of incompetence in CPR skills and avoidance of medicolegal duty involved in case any adverse events arise. Studies have shown the outcome of compression-only CPR is comparable that of CPR for layperson, which can reduce the risk of infectious disease involved with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. The regular re-certification of CPR skills can reduce the issue of feeling incompetence among rescuers. However, a Good Samaritan Law will be needed to exempt rescuers from legal liabilities in emergency situations so as to reduce their concern of unexpected medicolegal liability and promote resuscitation.

 

Various countries, such as China, the USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, India, Japan etc,  have incorporated the Good Samaritan Law into the legal system. While the overall goal of the Good Samaritan Law remains the same, namely to promote a sense of community responsibility as well as to facilitate prompt assistance to those in need of life-saving rescue, the specific content of Good Samaritan laws can vary in different regions.  One of the examples is the variation in the extent of protection offered under the law. For instance, in the USA, most state laws contain some degree of immunity from either criminal or civil penalties in an emergency situation. However, among them, 8 states provide no immunity to private individuals not meeting certain criteria and 24 states provide immunity for physicians rendering emergency care in a hospital.

 

While there is no one single law that can apply to all regions, we do need to align with international standard and come up with our own Good Samaritan Law to clarify legal protections for the rescuer and address the social hesitance on initiating CPR. By fostering a supportive legal environment, Hong Kong could empower its citizens to act more readily in times of need, ultimately benefiting public health and safety.


References

  1. Xu, Richard Huan, Ruiqi Sun, and Siu-Ngor Fu. "Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong: Registry-Based Study From 2017 to 2023.

  2. Hung, Maria SY, et al. "Public knowledge and attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Hong Kong: telephone survey." Hong Kong medical journal (香港醫學雜誌) 20.2 (2014): 126-133.\

  3. Bielski, Karol, et al. "Meta-analysis of chest compression-only versus conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation by bystanders for adult with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest." Cardiology journal 30.4 (2023): 606-613

  4. Sutton, Victoria. "Is There a Doctor (and a Lawyer) in the House? Why Our Good Samaritans Laws Are Doing More Harm than Good for a National Public Health Security Strategy: A Fifty-State Survey." J. Health & Biomedical l. 6 (2010): 261.


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