Pay attention to willfully and wantonly. If this accident had been in TX, the plaintiff would not have a leg to stand on.

john1schn on December 23, 2008 at 1:24 AM

Unless, a Texas court finds that yanking someone who has a severe spinal injury by the arm and dumping them immediately near the truck when there was no reasonable belief it was necessary and EMS arrived moments afterward, i.e., the siren was audible, was willfully and wantonly negligent. Then the defendant has no legs to stand on.

Without knowing the particulars of this case, I can only say that if the rescuer really believed she was doing a good thing & tried her best, no matter what the outcome, it sets a dangerous precedent to persecute/prosecute her for it.

So, it’s her belief that counts no matter how unreasonable the belief and no matter how negligent her actions and no matter how tragic the results? Talk about setting dangerous precedents.

If the rescuer was drunk &/or stoned, then that is a separate issue. Even drunk &/or stoned people do good deeds on occasion.

No, it is not a separate issue. It is part of this case. The woman was smoking dope and then went out for drinks. No one saw any smoke or any liquid coming from the car. She dumped her right next to the car. The ems arrived moments later. Did she have a reasonable belief or was she fk up out of her gourd?

Bottom line-people can be inherently brave & good-why would we want to mess with this?

Badger40 on December 22, 2008 at 11:47 AM

Oh, I dunno. Because some people don’t want to be paralyzed for life by some stoner?

This Blake thing is way out of hand.

I agree!

Why is anyone bothering to reply to this individual after the vitriol he/she started to spew?

Badger40 on December 22, 2008 at 11:47 AM

Because they hate facts and the people who cite them. They also enjoy spewing vitriol themselves, especially when it’s twenty against one. lol

Liberal creeps like Blake makes us Conservatives understand why we hate the far left sue happy jerks of the ACLU and other lawers that pray on fears of self-reliant people, people that want the ability to help and assist our neighbors in need.

Mark Garnett on December 22, 2008 at 11:54 AM

I’m not a liberal creep but a smart conservative and have never sued anyone in my life. If you are a conservative, you are a dumb one. Switch parties, please.

And for the record: Lawyers don’t sue people on their own behalf. People hire them to sue others. No client, no lawsuit. Your beef appears to be with the paraplegic people of the world.

Mr. Blake, many of us would be more likely to listen to you if you weren’t so nasty in the way you address others.

DrMagnolias on December 22, 2008 at 2:21 PM

I address people the way they address or have addressed me.

The typical “all-or-nothing” argument you spew is a lot like your lower intestine, Blake…stinky.

selias on December 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

You seem to know a lot about lower intestines. Maybe, you should pull your head out of yours and other people’s ass? Just sayin’

I can think of more than 2 dozen reasons to extract a victim out of a smashed vehicle before a trained professional arrives…a potential explosion or fire not included.

selias on December 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

And, none of them applied here. And one does not go into shock from being trapped in a car and the smoke from the airbag is harmless.

The Texas Good Samaritan Law limits the civil liability of persons administering emergency care in good faith at the scene of an emergency or in a health care facility. The law limits the civil liability of these persons unless their actions are willfully and wantonly negligent.

Pay attention to willfully and wantonly. If this accident had been in TX, the plaintiff would not have a leg to stand on.

/no, not literally…

gary fouse
fousesquawk

If this was CA, I would wave at the twitching body and drive on.

The court has sent a signal to the people of California: don’t get involved. If someone’s drowning, don’t jump in the lake and save them. If someone’s trapped in a car that’s about to explode, sit there and watch the show. Just make a phone call, and who cares that it might be several minutes before an EMS team can make it to the scene? If you sit on your hands, no one can sue you for all you’re worth.

Nothing to see here, people! Move along! Ignore the man in the car on fire! Keep traffic moving!

Liberal creeps like Blake makes us Conservatives understand why we hate the far left sue happy jerks of the ACLU and other lawers that pray on fears of self-reliant people, people that want the ability to help and assist our neighbors in need.

Mark Garnett on December 22, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Blake isn’t a liberal. I’m not saying this to defend him but just as a matter of fact.

Pffffffffffft.

selias on December 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

Best comment and example on the entire thread. +10

I especially like the last sentence.

Mark Garnett on December 22, 2008 at 11:54 AM

Thanks. I sometimes think I am alone in the wilderness!

Thanks to this ruling…I will question helping the next time. Instead I may just stand there like the 3 other capable dopes that day in Escondido…hoping they’re making a difference, each calling 911 on their cell phones…about the same accident…while a trapped 86 year old goes into shock and asphyxiates to death.
selias on December 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

No you won’t. Bcs you are a good person. And good people do good things, regardless of the risk.
All evil needs is for good men to do nothing. Don’t lose hope.

I only hope everyone involved eventually have an accident after which people are force to eatch them perish because they feared legal liability should they lend aid. THAT’S justice.

TrickyDick on December 22, 2008 at 12:11 PM

I’d like to think that way, too. But deep down, I don’t think any of us here wishes that upon another person.
There are pockets of good in CA. At least when I lived in Carmichael as a kid.

I was a licensed EMT in Texas for 5 years. Did it on the weekends outside my normal day job.

Since moving to California over 2 years ago, I have let my license expire, as unfortunately my regular job keeps me too busy these days. However, the knowledge and skills are still very much intact.

This past Thanksgiving, my relatives and I were traveling down the 78 in Escondido (just north of San Diego) heading to the Wild Animal Park. The 78 was jammed with traffic as usual, but especially worse being at the height of post Thanksgiving shopping. We witnessed an accident happen before our eyes involving 5 or 6 cars. My brother-in-law (a former USMC Scout Sniper, and always willing to lend a hand) and I pulled our car over and jumped out to give assistance, along with several other bystanders. In one of the cars…an 86 year old woman trapped inside (doors jammed from the impact). She was going into shock. We muscled her door open and carefully pulled her to safety. She was also gasping for air from smoke expelled from the airbag firing mechanism.

An ambulance didn’t arrive on scene for another 8 minutes due to the traffic. We may have saved her life, and somewhere, she may be having at least one more great Christmas with her loved ones. I can think of more than 2 dozen reasons to extract a victim out of a smashed vehicle before a trained professional arrives…a potential explosion or fire not included.

Thanks to this ruling…I will question helping the next time. Instead I may just stand there like the 3 other capable dopes that day in Escondido…hoping they’re making a difference, each calling 911 on their cell phones…about the same accident…while a trapped 86 year old goes into shock and asphyxiates to death.

The typical “all-or-nothing” argument you spew is a lot like your lower intestine, Blake…stinky. Just like the same slippery slope argument for abortion rights…that somehow the very rare instance of incest or rape or mother’s life in jeopardy will be overlooked by the heartless pro-life advocates…the same way you decry that all Good Samaritans will mindlessly drag a victim out of the frying pan and into the fire…or oncoming big-rig traffic.

Pffffffffffft.

Badger40 on December 22, 2008 at 11:47 AM

Liberal creeps like Blake makes us Conservatives understand why we hate the far left sue happy jerks of the ACLU and other lawers that pray on fears of self-reliant people, people that want the ability to help and assist our neighbors in need.

Your post gets an A ++, I wish more people thought like you and we’d have less welfare and more person responsibility.

:)