Most states have Good Samaritan laws that generally protect a person who renders medical or nonmedical care at the scene of an emergency—in good faith and not for compensation—from liability for civil damages (money) resulting from any related act or omission (negligence).

These Good Samaritan laws vary from state to state but generally include protection for medical doctors and other health care providers who—while not working with an expectation of being paid for their services—volunteer to help in emergency situations such as the scene of an automobile accident, a person choking in a restaurant, or a person having a heart attack on an airplane.

Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Laws

Most states and the District of Columbia have passed Good Samaritan drug overdose laws—also known as 911 Good Samaritan laws—that generally provide immunity from arrest, charge, or prosecution for criminal offenses related to controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. These laws also sometimes provide immunity from the consequences of what would otherwise be violations of pretrial, probation, parole, order of protection, or restraining order terms and conditions. And sometimes these Good Samaritan drug overdose laws provide immunity from civil liability for a person who calls 911, administers resuscitation procedures, or administers an agent such as Naloxone (a rescue drug) following an opioid overdose, for example.

Good Samaritan drug overdose laws vary from state to state in the scope of covered criminal offenses and violations—and sometimes require a 911 caller, for example, to remain at the scene of a drug overdose and cooperate with emergency medical personnel. Many laws require a 911 caller to have a reasonable belief that someone is experiencing an overdose emergency and require the caller to have made the report of an emergency in good faith and not, for example, when the police are executing an arrest or search warrant.

In Alabama, Good Samaritan laws provide legal protection to individuals who voluntarily provide emergency care or assistance, without expectation of compensation, to those who are injured or in danger. The Alabama Good Samaritan Law (Ala. Code § 6-5-332) generally shields such individuals from civil liability for any harm resulting from their acts or omissions, as long as they acted in good faith and without willful or wanton misconduct. Additionally, Alabama has a specific Good Samaritan law related to drug overdoses, known as the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Treatment Act (Ala. Code § 20-2-250 to § 20-2-259). This law provides certain protections for individuals who seek medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose, as well as for those who administer opioid antagonists like Naloxone to reverse the effects of an overdose. The law aims to encourage people to seek help in overdose situations without fear of prosecution for minor drug offenses. However, these protections are not absolute and do not cover more serious crimes or situations where the individual seeking help was conducting illegal activities beyond the scope of the overdose incident.