Pulling Over to Help: What California Law Protects, and What It Doesn't

On this page:

• Two different situations
• What the Good Samaritan law protects
• What it does not protect you from
• Helping without becoming the next victim
• If something goes wrong while you help
• Being a good witness
• At a glance

Most people who see a crash want to help. Many hesitate for two reasons: fear of being sued if they do something wrong, and uncertainty about what they are actually supposed to do. California law answers the first worry more clearly than people expect. The second is mostly about staying safe.

Two different situations

If you were involved in the crash, you have legal duties. When anyone is injured or killed, Vehicle Code section 20003 requires each driver involved to give their name, address and registration details, show their license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including arranging transport to medical care when it is apparent or requested.

If you were driving past, you were not part of the crash, and the question is what protection you have if you choose to stop and help. That is what the Good Samaritan law is for.

What the Good Samaritan law protects

Health and Safety Code section 1799.102 states the Legislature's intent to encourage people to volunteer, without compensation, to help others in an emergency, while making sure they act responsibly. For members of the public, it provides that no one who, in good faith and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency is liable for civil damages from any act or omission, other than one constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.

A few details matter. The protection covers nonmedical help, such as pulling someone away from a burning car or directing traffic around a hazard, as well as first aid. It applies at the scene of an emergency, which the statute says does not include emergency departments or other places where medical care is usually offered. Medical, law enforcement and emergency personnel have their own protections under the same chapter. And the section does not change any existing legal duties, so a driver involved in the crash still owes everything section 20003 requires.

What it does not protect you from

The Good Samaritan law is about lawsuits. It does nothing about traffic, and traffic is the real danger at a roadside crash. It also does not cover reckless conduct: gross negligence and willful or wanton misconduct fall outside it. And it does not repair your car if it is hit while parked on the shoulder.

Helping without becoming the next victim

1. Call 911 first and give the most exact location you can: freeway direction, nearest exit or mile marker, cross street.
2. Park well off the road, clear of the crash and of the lanes, with hazard lights on. Never stop in a travel lane.
3. Look before you step out, and stay off the roadway as much as possible. Wear something bright if you have it.
4. Do not move injured people unless they are in immediate danger, such as fire, and follow the dispatcher's instructions.
5. Hand over to responders when they arrive and tell them what you saw and did.

If something goes wrong while you help

• Your parked car is hit. The driver who hit it is responsible through their liability coverage. Your own collision coverage can repair it in the meantime, and uninsured motorist property damage coverage may apply if that driver had no insurance, depending on your policy.
• You are hit while on foot. The driver who hit you is responsible. Your own medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage may also extend to you as a pedestrian, depending on the policy wording, which varies by insurance company. Health insurance covers your treatment as usual.
• Someone claims your help made things worse. Section 1799.102 shields good-faith, unpaid help except for gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.

Being a good witness

Even if you do nothing else, your account can matter. Give your name and phone number to the drivers and the officer, note the time, the lanes and the signals, and take photos from a safe spot if you can. You do not need to file an SR-1 with the DMV just for witnessing a crash; the DMV requires that report from each driver involved when there is injury, death or more than $1,000 in property damage.

At a glance

Your own medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage are what protect you if helping someone goes badly. If you want to check yours, you can talk to a licensed broker in a couple of minutes.