Nursing care
Good Samaritan Laws, explained for the bedside and the exam
Written and reviewed by Dana Whitfield, RN, MSN · 5 min read · Updated September 2026
Short answer
Good Samaritan laws protect a nurse who voluntarily provides emergency care at the scene of an accident, in good faith, within their competence, and without expectation of payment. The protection does not cover gross negligence or reckless conduct, and it does not cover abandoning the patient once care has begun. Coverage details and limits vary by state.
What the concept actually says
Good Samaritan laws exist in every state, though their exact wording and scope differ. Broadly, they shield a person, including a nurse, who stops to render emergency aid at the scene of an accident or sudden illness from civil liability for ordinary negligence in that aid, provided the care was given voluntarily, in good faith, and without compensation.
The protection is bounded. It typically applies only to care rendered at the scene, before professional emergency services arrive and take over, and only within the scope of what the responder is trained to do. A nurse improvising a procedure well outside their competence, or one who begins care and then walks away, generally steps outside the protection. Gross negligence and willful or wanton misconduct are almost universally excluded, meaning the law protects an honest mistake, not recklessness.
The clinical reasoning behind it
The purpose of these statutes is to remove the fear of a lawsuit as a reason not to help. Without that protection, a nurse witnessing a collapse on the street might reasonably hesitate, worried that any error made under pressure, with none of the usual resources of a hospital, could expose them to a malpractice claim.
The boundaries make clinical sense too. Requiring the care to stay within the responder's actual competence protects the bystander from harm caused by someone attempting something they are not trained for. Requiring that care not be abandoned once started reflects a basic principle already familiar from professional practice: once a duty of care has been assumed, walking away mid-intervention can leave the patient worse off than if no one had stopped at all, and that abandonment is treated as its own kind of harm.
Applying it under time pressure
At the scene of an emergency, a nurse should first assess whether the situation is safe to approach, then provide care within their actual training, such as basic life support, hemorrhage control, or positioning, rather than attempting an advanced intervention they would not perform without proper equipment or backup.
Once care has begun, the nurse should continue until a person with equal or greater training takes over, such as arriving EMS personnel, or until the patient no longer needs assistance. Stopping partway through, for reasons unrelated to a proper handoff, is the single action most likely to void Good Samaritan protection. It is reasonable, and often expected, to identify oneself as a nurse to arriving responders and give a brief handoff of what was found and done.
Common misconceptions
A common misconception is that Good Samaritan protection applies inside the hospital during a nurse's normal shift. It generally does not; it is designed for the unplanned, off-duty, out-of-facility emergency, not for care rendered as part of a nurse's employed clinical role, which is instead governed by the ordinary standard of care and employer liability coverage.
Another misconception is that the law provides blanket immunity no matter what happens. It does not cover gross negligence, and it typically does not cover accepting payment for the aid given. A third misconception is that once a nurse decides to help, they can stop whenever convenient with no consequence. Abandonment after assuming care is treated separately from the initial decision to help, and it can strip away the protection the law otherwise offers.
Practice scenarios
A nurse off duty at a grocery store sees a shopper collapse and begins CPR, continuing chest compressions until paramedics arrive and take over, then gives them a brief report before leaving. This is the situation Good Samaritan laws are written to protect: voluntary, in good faith, within competence, and handed off properly.
A nurse stops at a car accident, begins applying pressure to a bleeding wound, then leaves when a friend calls to say they will be late somewhere else, before anyone else has taken over care. Because the nurse assumed care and left before a proper handoff, this pattern of abandonment sits outside what most Good Samaritan statutes protect, regardless of how the initial decision to help was intended.
Key takeaways
Good Samaritan protection covers voluntary, good-faith emergency care at the scene, given within the nurse's actual competence and without payment, and it excludes gross negligence and reckless conduct.
The protection does not travel with a nurse into their normal paid clinical shift, and it does not survive abandoning a patient partway through care that has already been started. Because the specific scope, and whether it extends to off-duty healthcare professionals differently than laypeople, varies by state, a nurse should know the statute in the state where they practice rather than assume national uniformity.
The next step on this is the same as on everything else here: answer questions and read the rationales. Our fundamentals practice questions are the closest set to what this page covers.
Common questions
Does Good Samaritan law protect a nurse working their normal shift in a hospital?
No. Good Samaritan protection is intended for voluntary emergency aid outside the nurse's employed clinical role, typically at an accident scene or in a public place. Care given during a paid shift falls under the ordinary standard of care and the facility's liability framework instead.
Can a nurse be sued for a mistake made while helping at an accident scene?
Ordinary mistakes made in good faith and within the nurse's competence are generally covered by Good Samaritan protection in most states. Gross negligence or reckless conduct is not protected, and the exact standard varies by state law.
Is a nurse legally required to stop and help at an accident scene?
In most states, no, there is no general legal duty for a bystander to stop and render aid, nurse or not. A small number of jurisdictions impose limited duty-to-assist requirements, so a nurse should be aware of the specific rule in their state.
What happens if a nurse accepts payment for helping at the scene?
Accepting payment or compensation for the aid given can remove Good Samaritan protection, since the statutes generally require the care to be given voluntarily and without expectation of a fee. This is separate from later being reimbursed for supplies used, which some jurisdictions treat differently.
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