Nevada Good Samaritan Law – How Does It Work?

Nevada’s Good Samaritan Law protects you from being sued when:

1. you aid an injured victim,
2. in good faith,
3. without a financial motive, and
4. in an emergency that you did not create.

However, this law does not apply if you act with gross negligence or willful misconduct or have a pre-existing duty to care for another person.

In this article, our Nevada personal injury attorneys will answer the following key questions:

• 1. What is Nevada’s Good Samaritan law?
• 2. When does the good Samaritan law apply?
• 3. When does NRS 41.500 not apply?
• 4. Can I give CPR?
• 5. Will I get in trouble for reporting an overdose?
• 6. Can good Samaritans be sued?
• 7. Am I required to help in an emergency?

1. What is Nevada’s good Samaritan law?

The purpose of NRS 41.500 is to encourage innocent bystanders to give emergency assistance or care without fear of getting sued. Even if you make an innocent mistake and injure the victim further, Nevada insulates you from civil liability.

2. When does the good Samaritan law apply?

NRS 41.500 applies to a narrow range of situations. To be protected as a “good Samaritan” under Nevada law, the following four conditions must be met:

1. The situation must be an emergency you did not create;
2. You must be working for free;
3. You must be working in good faith; and
4. The victim receiving aid must be injured.

Example: After Mary gets injured from a deck collapse, Jed stops the bleeding by binding the wound with his sweaty t-shirt. Even if this causes Mary to get an infection, Jed helped in good faith and for no charge and therefore cannot be sued for the infection.

It would make no difference if Jed in the above example was a doctor or other health care professional. As long as Jed’s help was gratuitous and was not expecting payment, Mary would not have a viable claim against him.

NRS 41.500 protects not only innocent bystanders but also the following emergency services people:

• Volunteer firefighters;
• Volunteer ambulance drivers and assistants; and
• Search and rescue workers (under a county sheriff’s supervision)¹

3. When does NRS 41.500 not apply?

NRS 41.500 does not protect you from civil liability if you intentionally hurt the victim or are “grossly negligent” when rendering aid to a victim. Gross negligence is not a mere lapse of judgment like simple negligence. Instead, it is reckless or deliberate misconduct.

Example: After a pedestrian gets hit by a bike, Jake grabs his leg and swings him off the road so he is out of traffic, but he breaks his leg in the process. Here, Jake’s act of handling the pedestrian like a rag doll is gross negligence. Therefore, he can be sued by the pedestrian for exacerbating his injuries.

NRS 41.500 also does not immunize you if you caused the victim’s initial injury. If the bicyclist in the above example carefully carried Jake away from traffic, the bicyclist could still be sued. He was the one who ran into and injured the pedestrian.

Finally, NRS 41.500 does not protect you from liability if you have a duty to give aid in the first place. A good Samaritan is someone who renders aid even though they have no legal duty to do so. Examples of people with a duty to render aid and provide reasonable care include:

• Paid first responders, such as paramedics;
• Innkeepers helping an injured guest on their property;
• Daycare workers helping an injured child in their care; and
• Drivers who hit a pedestrian

Furthermore, people with a duty to render aid are held to a higher standard than regular bystanders. Good Samaritans may not be liable for their innocent mistakes (simple negligence), but people with a duty to render aid are liable for their mistakes.²

4. Can I give CPR as a good Samaritan?

If you administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in good faith and outside the scope of your job, you are protected from liability if:

• You successfully completed a course in CPR. The course must meet the guidelines of the American National Red Cross or American Heart Association; or
• You successfully completed the training requirements of a course in basic emergency care of a person in cardiac arrest. The course must be conducted in accordance with the standards of the American Heart Association; or
• You are directed to give CPR by the instructions of a dispatcher for an ambulance, air ambulance, or other agency that provides emergency medical services, before its arrival at the scene of the emergency

You could face civil liability if you acted with gross negligence.³

5. Will I get in trouble for reporting an overdose?

In the past, people who OD-ed or saw others OD were afraid to seek medical treatment out of fear that they would get arrested. As of 2015, Nevada has a law – NRS 453C -protecting you from certain criminal prosecution whenever you either:

1. Report an overdose (or other medical emergency) to the police, 911, a poison control center, or medical facility; or
2. Assist another person in reporting an overdose; or
3. Care for a person who is OD-ing or having other medical emergency while waiting for medical help; or
4. Bring a person experiencing an overdose or emergency to a medical facility and notify the appropriate authorities.

If you do either of the above four acts, you may not be arrested or prosecuted for:

• Drug paraphernalia possession (NRS 453.560 & NRS 453.566);
• Violation of a restraining order (NRS 33.100);
• Violation of probation;
• Violation of parole; or
• Drug possession (NRS 453.336), with some exceptions

The purpose of Nevada’s good Samaritan drug overdose law is to save lives, especially during the present opioid overdose epidemic. People are much more likely to seek help for an overdosing person if they do not fear getting arrested by law enforcement for it. Letting these good Samaritans off the hook for their drug-related transgressions is worth the opportunity to treat people suffering from an overdose.

NRS 453C’s immunity protections also extend to medical professionals with the authority to write prescriptions that prescribe antidotes for opioid overdoses. The pharmacists who dispense these antidotes are immune from legal liability as well.⁴

6. Can good Samaritans be sued?

You can be liable for injuries you cause rendering aid if you do not check all the required boxes. Plaintiffs in a personal injury case may be able to show that you were not immune from civil liability on either of the following grounds:

• You expected payment;
• You did not render aid or medical care in good faith;
• The situation was not an emergency;
• The plaintiff was not injured;
• You had a duty to give aid;
• You created the emergency or caused the plaintiff’s injury; or
• Your actions amounted to gross negligence or intentional harm.

The most notable Nevada Supreme Court case involving a lawsuit against a self-proclaimed good Samaritan is Buck v. Greyhound Lines:

After a car stalled, a retired police officer advised the driver to turn off his headlights to conserve battery. Then a Greyhound bus did not see the car and plowed into it. The court found that the officer created the emergency by telling the driver to turn off his headlights. Therefore, he was not exempt under NRS 41.500 and had legal liability.

If a plaintiff wins a civil trial against a false good Samaritan, the plaintiff may be eligible to receive compensatory civil damages. This includes money for:

• Medical bills;
• Lost wages;
• Lost earning capacity; and/or
• Pain and suffering

If you acted with gross negligence, the judge may order that you pay punitive damages as well.⁵

Check out our YouTube video on whether a good Samaritan can be sued.

7. Am I required to help in an emergency?

Even if you feel a moral duty to render aid in an emergency, you have no legal duty to.

The statute of limitations in accident cases can be as short as two (2) years, so contact our injury lawyers right away to start working on your case.

Key Takeaways From This Article:

1. The public policy behind NRS 41.500 is to encourage the general public to help victims in emergencies.
2. You have no legal duty to act as a good Samaritan.
3. Nevada law also protects you from certain criminal drug charges if you seek medical help for a person who has overdosed.

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Legal References