What Florida's Good Samaritan Law Means for You

What Florida’s Good Samaritan Law Means for You

When you have a medical emergency, you go to the emergency room. Doctors, nurses, and hospitals work fast there. They try to save lives and make sick people stable. Florida law helps them act quickly while giving them some protection from lawsuits. This protection is part of the “Good Samaritan Doctrine.”

At the Law Office of David L. Rich, P.A., we want all Floridians to know their rights. This includes understanding laws about emergency medical care, the Good Samaritan Laws, and gross negligence.

The Good Samaritan Law in Hospitals and ERs

The regular “Good Samaritan” idea is about helping someone outside. Like someone injured at a car crash. But Florida’s law (Florida Statute § 768.13) also applies to hospitals and their ER staff.

This law understands how hard emergency care is for medical professionals. It basically says that a hospital or an ER doctor (and other medical staff) usually cannot be sued for harm from care given in the emergency room. This is especially true if the patient is unstable.

This rule helps medical workers by letting them focus on making a very sick patient stable. They don’t have to fear being sued for every small mistake or for things that go wrong during urgent, life-saving care. The law wants them to help without delay.

When Does This Law Apply? The “Unstable Patient” Rule

The most important part here is if the patient is “unstable.” This means the protection usually applies to care given:

• Before the patient is stable and can get regular medical care.
• This includes checking the patient and giving first treatments.

The law knows that treating an unstable patient in an emergency means making quick choices in tough situations. It protects against regular mistakes that might happen in such a busy place.

The Big Exception: Really Bad Mistakes (Gross Negligence)

This important protection for hospital, doctors, and ER staff is not total or absolute protection. Just like the general Good Samaritan Law, it does not apply if the harm comes from care that was extremely careless. This means the person knew their actions were highly risky but went ahead anyway, seriously endangering someone’s life or health.

This action is called “gross negligence.” It means simple mistakes or things that don’t go perfectly in an emergency might be protected. But actions that show a severe and careless lack of concern for the patient’s safety will not be protected. If the care is way below what any good medical person would do, then the protection is gone.

Examples of Really Bad Mistakes Where There’s No Protection:

David L. Rich, who started the Law Office of David L. Rich, P.A., says it can be tricky to tell if a mistake is “gross negligence.” But here are examples where the Good Samaritan protection would likely not apply:

• Ignoring clear signs of a life-threatening problem: Like not treating someone who clearly has a heart attack or stroke, causing serious, avoidable harm.
• Trying a medical procedure you’re not trained for, and doing it carelessly: A doctor trying a complex surgery in the ER without the right skills, leading to a terrible injury.
• Making a huge wrong diagnosis because you completely ignored normal rules: Like sending a very sick patient home with bad internal bleeding after barely checking them, when normal ER rules would mean checking them much more.
• Not using available and needed life-saving equipment or medicine without a good reason, leading to the patient dying or becoming very disabled.
• Leaving a very sick patient alone for too long when they need constant watching and help, causing them to get much worse.

In these cases, the actions are more than just problems in a busy ER. They show a serious lack of care that can cause major and avoidable harm to a patient.

Your Rights After an ER Visit

If you or someone you love was badly hurt or died because of care in a Florida emergency room, especially if the patient was unstable, you need to know if the care was “gross negligence.” These types of legal cases are complex and you need experienced legal help.

At the Law Office of David L. Rich, P.A., we work to protect injured people in Margate and all over Florida. We will look closely at what happened. Then we can figure out if gross negligence took place and help you seek the money you deserve.

Contact the Law Office of David L. Rich, P.A. today. We offer a free talk to discuss your situation. We are here to help you understand your choices and fight for what’s right.