Last week, the California Supreme Court paved the way for just about every potential "do-gooder" to just walk right on by about their business when they someone in danger.
Poor Lisa Torti. Had only she not been paying attention when her friend's car slammed into a lightpost going 45 mph, perhaps she wouldn't now be worrying whether she'll have a dime to call her very own by this time next year.
Her friend. Seriously. You're friend sees you involved in a pretty nasty wreck and pulls you from the car. Sure, maybe now you don't have the use of a few limbs...but, who's to say that wasn't the wreck's fault?
Torti says she feared the car would explode and rushed to her friends aid. Had I been conscious, and I saw my good friend coming to my aid, I would be yelling at the top of my lungs to get my happy butt out of the car. Because I've seen too many accidents in my line of work to know that the exploding car thing CAN actually happen.
Texas has a Good Samaritan Law. Yup, Texas State Law 6701d protects, "a person who in good faith administers emergency care at the scene of an emergency or in a hospital is not liable in civil damages for an act performed during the emergency unless the act is wilfully or wantonly negligent."
See, right there. You're protected. But, the same law applies in California, and yet poor Lisa Torti is about to be sued for saving her friend.
So, despite knowing this, if you happen upon a an accident, or have the unfortunate fortune of witnessing a horrible tragedy, will you still do everything in your power to come to their aid? Friend or no friend?
Or, will you hesitate? Will you even stop and think before acting? Will you walk on by?
Grind that, and let me know.
Mike Tobias, Port Arthur News
mtobias@panews.com.
Monday, December 29, 2008
3 comments:
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I agree with you. Unless this good samaritan had some special training that would have held them to a higher standard this is a very bad court decision.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, you can relax a bit. The probability of a fatal vehicle fire in a wreck is really pretty low. Last year 550 people died as a result of all vehicle fires. This statistic doesn't break down how many of these were wrecks but I will assume that almost all were. This is but a fraction of the more than 42,000 fatalities from wrecks annually. The probabilty of a vehicle exploding is even less unless your still driving a Ford Pinto or a very old GM truck.
I wouldn't hesitate....I'd prefer to get the shaft from this stupid society we are a part of than live with my conscience after NOT helping.
ReplyDeleteMan our society is so Darn sue happy we will sue anyone over anything. What if Lisa Torti turned around and sued her friend for endangering Lisa life. If her friend hadn't got in the wreck Lisa wouldn't have to risk her life running up to a potential bomb of a car. Some people have NO SOUL! I would feel I owe everyday to someone who pulled me from a car.
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