I bet her insurance company is the one pushing the lawsuit.

Ah, I hadn't thought about that. That makes me feel a little bit better. *Corporate* greed isn't as big of a shock to the system.

This changes everything. One of the cardinal rules of first aid training is that you can't get sued but being a "good samaritan" and trying to administer first aid.

Now you can, apparently, and this will open the door for attorneys and insurance companies to go after well-meaning people if there is a buck involved.

danf: the ruling doesn't change the Good Samaritan exemptions for rendering first aid. First aid can be defined--CPR, for instance, compression to stop bleeding. What this woman did was *not* first aid and it's a fairly ordinary court ruling consistent with lots of precedent in the US.

That said, I agree with the basic sentiment that sometimes, you just don't sue. In fact, in most contexts, most times there's no justification for suing. People do it anyway.

Looking at the particulars of this case, I suspect that bad judgment resulting from booze was at play from all parties. Drunk crashes into tree. Drunk friend misreads situation and makes it worse with a drunken attempt at rescue. Misery ensues. Not to dismiss the broader implications of the case, but it does seem as though there was enough blame to go around here...

Whatever. I'm never going to try to save anyone's life. Lesson learned!

How about the lesson that, "Basic first-aid and accident response training is low-cost through most YMCAs or other organizations, and can be completed in one day."

I certainly learned a lesson: Always be yourself.
Also: Seize the day.

Man I'm glad I didn't give jonmc that tracheotomy with my ball point pen. He snapped out of it in a few minutes anyway.

So, according to the brilliant justices if you are rendering first aid then you're safe but if you're rescuing somebody you are open to a suit. A distinction with little difference to most folks.

As if people needed further incentive to do nothing in an emergency.

This is going to sound crazy, but practically this whole case was done years ago on that old tv show "CHiPS" (remember? When Erik Estrada was hot?) I still remember the episode: Jon and Ponch arrive on-scene, where a guy had been pulled from his smoking car. Guy ends up paralyzed - tries to sue the cops. But they said he was already out of the car when they arrived. Turns out that nearby construction workers (wearing similar gold helmets) had pulled the guy from the car - getting our heros off the hook. But even back then, they were faced with a lawsuit from the injured party. Sad, that no good deed goes unpunished.

I love CHIPS.