California Good Samaritan Law: Conditions, Limits, and AED Use

Under California’s Good Samaritan law, you generally cannot be sued for civil damages if you voluntarily help someone during an emergency, provided you act in good faith and aren’t being paid for the help. The core protection sits in Health and Safety Code Section 1799.102, but the shield isn’t identical for everyone. Trained medical and emergency personnel get broader coverage than ordinary bystanders, and a bystander who acts recklessly can still be held liable.¹

Who the Law Protects

The statute creates two tiers.

Subdivision (a) covers medical professionals, law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel who provide emergency care in good faith and without compensation. For this group, the shield reaches any act or omission during the emergency, with no gross negligence carve-out written into the subdivision.¹

Subdivision (b)(2), added by Assembly Bill 83 in 2009, extends protection to ordinary bystanders who provide emergency care or assistance in good faith and without compensation. Here, though, the shield has a limit: a layperson can still be held liable for gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.² Honest mistakes are forgiven. Reckless behavior is not.

Three Conditions You Have to Meet

Whichever tier you fall under, three requirements have to line up before the protection kicks in.

You act in good faith. You have to genuinely intend to help. Stopping at a crash to go through someone’s belongings doesn’t qualify.
You aren’t being paid. If you’re on the clock providing medical services, the Good Samaritan shield doesn’t apply to that encounter. Off-duty professionals who step in voluntarily still qualify.
You are at the scene of the emergency. The statute specifies that “the scene of an emergency shall not include emergency departments and other places where medical care is usually offered.” Once someone reaches a hospital or clinic, ordinary liability rules take over.²

All three have to be true at the same time. A volunteer at a free clinic, for instance, is already in a place where medical care is usually offered, so Section 1799.102 wouldn’t apply even if the other two boxes are checked.

Gross Negligence vs. Honest Mistakes

For bystanders without emergency training, the gross negligence line decides everything.

Ordinary negligence is a simple failure to use reasonable care. Moving an injured person’s neck incorrectly because you didn’t know better, or applying a tourniquet too loosely, falls into this category. Those are the mistakes the law is designed to forgive.

Gross negligence is an extreme departure from ordinary care that reflects a reckless disregard for someone’s safety. It’s the difference between doing first aid badly and doing something no reasonable person would consider safe in the first place.

Willful or wanton misconduct goes further still, involving deliberately harmful or indifferent behavior. If you use the emergency as a pretext for something you know could injure the person, or you simply don’t care whether your actions cause harm, the shield falls away. Claims against Good Samaritans in California generally live or die on this line.

Using an AED or Performing CPR

California provides a separate, stronger shield for using an automated external defibrillator. Under Civil Code Section 1714.21, a person who uses an AED in good faith and without compensation at the scene of an emergency is not liable for civil damages resulting from that emergency care. The statute contains no gross negligence exception on its face and covers any acts or omissions in rendering the care.³

The same statute extends protection to the trainer who taught the user, the entity that acquired the AED for emergency use (assuming it complied with placement requirements), and the health care professionals involved in selecting or installing the device.³ If you see someone in cardiac arrest and an AED is nearby, California law wants you to use it.

Calling 911 for a Drug Overdose

A different provision handles a different emergency. Under Health and Safety Code Section 11376.5, if you call for medical help because someone is overdosing, you won’t face criminal charges for being under the influence of or possessing a controlled substance, as long as the drugs are for personal use, you sought help in good faith, and you don’t obstruct emergency responders.⁴

The person overdosing gets the same protection. If someone at the scene calls in good faith, the victim also won’t be charged for personal-use possession or being under the influence.⁴

The immunity is deliberately narrow. It covers personal-use possession and being under the influence, and nothing else. The statute states plainly that “no other immunities or protections from arrest or prosecution for violations of the law are intended or may be inferred.” Sales, manufacturing, and other charges are not covered. The point is to remove the fear of a possession charge so someone actually picks up the phone.

California also enacted Health and Safety Code Section 1799.113, through Assembly Bill 1166, addressing liability protections for people who administer opioid antagonists like naloxone during an emergency. Between that provision and Section 11376.5, a bystander is shielded both from prosecution for calling for help and from civil liability for administering the medication.

You Are Not Required to Help

California follows the traditional American rule: there is no general legal duty to rescue a stranger. If you see someone drowning or choking, the law doesn’t require you to intervene. Not helping is neither a crime nor a basis for a lawsuit.

Some exceptions exist. California requires reporting of certain crimes against children under 14, and professionals like doctors and firefighters can have duties arising from their roles. For the general public, though, the Good Samaritan law is about removing barriers for people who choose to help, not about punishing people who don’t. It says “if you help, we’ll protect you.” It does not say “you must help.”

What the Law Does Not Cover

The protections have real edges. Before you assume you’re covered, know where the shield stops.

Hospitals and clinics. The statute explicitly excludes emergency departments and other places where medical care is usually offered. A hospital visitor who jumps in to help a patient isn’t covered by Section 1799.102.²
Paid care. If you’re being compensated for the help you’re providing, you fall outside the statute. A lifeguard on duty is held to the professional standard of care, not the Good Samaritan standard.
After the emergency ends. Once professional responders take over or the person is transported to a medical facility, the shield drops. Continued intervention at that point is governed by ordinary liability rules.
Reckless conduct by bystanders. Untrained helpers remain liable for gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. The law forgives honest mistakes, not indifference to someone’s safety.¹

Federal Protections That May Also Apply

Two federal laws can layer on top of California’s protections.

The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 gives volunteers working for nonprofits or government entities immunity from civil liability for negligent acts committed within the scope of their volunteer duties. It doesn’t cover willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, or harm caused while operating a vehicle, and it won’t help if you weren’t properly licensed or authorized for the activity.

The Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 protects medical professionals who provide good-faith help during in-flight medical emergencies on domestic U.S. flights. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other qualified medical professionals who respond to an emergency on a plane are shielded from liability in both federal and state court, with the usual exception for gross negligence or willful misconduct. On international flights, the AMAA may not apply.

These federal statutes run alongside California’s, rather than replacing them. Where both apply, you get the benefit of whichever offers broader coverage.

1
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 1799.102
2
California Legislative Information. AB-83 Torts: Personal Liability Immunity
3
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.21
4
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 11376.5