The German law says passersby who ignore a situation where they could have helped but did not, may be punished either by a fine or a period of imprisonment of up to one year.
Can you imagine doing something like that in the USA, passing a law forcing people to help those in distress?
But sadly, the Good Samaritan laws are a joke because they only protect “innocent” bystanders; it does not stop a litigious asswipe from accusing YOU of causing the accident!
I was on a jury where a poor passerby stopped to help a woman injured in a one-car accident, and afterwards, looking for somebody to sue, the driver sued a Good Samaritan who stopped to help, claiming that it was he who had run her off of the road!
I sat on that jury for two days, and I was incensed because the judge would not let us fine the scumbag who sued someone who's only crime was only trying to help them!
Everybody knows that in our litigious society, lawyers will sue everybody and anybody.
I’ve been burned myself once for coming to somebody’s aid (my insurance paid their “nuisance” claim) and now I will only help people when it’s clear that I can get away anonymously afterwards.
See this case where money-hungry scumbags sued a good samaritan.
And this nonsense, where California allows people to sue those who try to help them!
It’s a sad state of affairs, where people fear litigation, and the Good Samaritan laws don’t help. In my note no more Good Samaritans in California, we are warned not to stop and try to assist someone in California:
“A Good Samaritan whose well-meaning but careless rescue effort injures an accident victim can be sued for damages, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.”
