civil liability of good samaritans and volunteers - Law Reform ...

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account the general policy setting of encouraging active citizenship andvolunteerism in Ireland. 115 To the extent that the Private Member Bill, the GoodSamaritan Bill 2005, which formed the backdrop to the Attorney General‟srequest to the Commission, dealt only with Good Samaritans and volunteerswho are engaged in certain types of activity, the Commission also expressed itspreference for a legislative approach that was more inclusive.(b)Discussion4.53 The Commission acknowledges that, for the most part, the policybehind both Good Samaritan and volunteer statutes is to encourage thosewithout a pre-existing duty to assist another. 116 In this regard, the Commissionrefers to the policy background discussed in Chapter 1 which is concerned withpromoting active citizenship and volunteering in Ireland and considers,therefore, the rationale for enacting such legislation to be in line with theexperience of other jurisdictions. While some jurisdictions have enactedseparate pieces of legislation to deal with Good Samaritans, on the one hand,and volunteers, on the other, the Commission notes that a Good Samaritan maybe seen as a species of volunteer. In this regard, the Commission considersthat the Good Samaritan “volunteers” to help in circumstances of emergency oraccident. The Commission has, therefore, concluded that a single piece oflegislation dealing with both Good Samaritans and volunteers would beappropriate. The Commission observes that this approach was supported bythe majority of submissions received during the consultation process after thepublication of the Consultation Paper. The Commission, therefore,recommends the enactment of a single piece of legislation that deals with thecivil liability of both Good Samaritans and volunteers.4.54 In the Consultation Paper, the Commission noted that the term “GoodSamaritan legislation” is often used to describe legislation that relates to bothGood Samaritans and volunteers. The submissions, however, indicate that amore descriptive title would ensure that volunteers understand that theproposed legislation is also relevant to the activities which they undertake. TheCommission is of the view, therefore, that it would be more appropriate to referto its proposed draft legislation as the Civil Liability (Good Samaritans andVolunteers) Bill.4.55 The Commission recommends the enactment of a single piece oflegislation that deals with the civil liability of both Good Samaritans andvolunteers.115116LRC CP 47-2007 at 4.47.Veilleux, Annotation, Construction and Application of "Good Samaritan" Statutes,68 A.L.R. 4th 294.106
(2) General scope of legislation4.56 In the Consultation Paper, 117 the Commission concluded that it wouldbe inappropriate for any legislation to set down strict circumstantial paradigmsin which the intervention must be undertaken. The Commission provisionallyrecommended, in this regard, that the proposed legislation shouldaccommodate the following: the range of individuals that may constitute GoodSamaritans and volunteers; the various types of intervention that might bemade; and the different situations in which those interventions might takeplace. 1184.57 Submissions received by the Commission in the consultation periodafter the publication of the Consultation Paper agreed with the Commission‟sprovisional recommendation, noting the importance of protecting as wide aclass of persons, situations and conduct as possible. The Commissionobserves that this is in line with the policy background which it has consideredin Chapter 1 and, therefore, confirms the recommendation made in theConsultation Paper in this respect.4.58 The Commission recommends that the proposed legislation shouldaccommodate: the range of individuals that may constitute Good Samaritansand volunteers; the various types of intervention that might be made; and thedifferent situations in which those interventions might take place.(3) Protected Person4.59 As the Commission pointed out in the Consultation Paper, anylegislation must be broad enough to cover the wide range of individuals whomay be classified as either a Good Samaritan or a volunteer. 1194.60 While many jurisdictions have limited the application of their GoodSamaritan and volunteer protection statutes to narrow categories of person, theCommission is of the view that a more inclusive approach would be appropriatein this jurisdiction. Recalling the policy background discussed in Chapter 1, theCommission notes that a narrow definition of who or what might constitute aGood Samaritan or volunteer would be incompatible with the concept of “activecitizenship.” In this regard, the Commission recalls that the term “active citizen”may be used to describe both individuals and organisations. Furthermore, anindividual active citizen may be further categorised as a formal or informalvolunteer. Drawing from the examination of the protections available in otherjurisdictions, the Commission notes that in most cases these apply to117118119LRC CP 47-2007 at paragraph 4.50-4.51.LRC CP 47-2007 at paragraph 4.51LRC CP 47-2007 at paragraph 4.47107
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ReportCivil liabilityof goodsamarit
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LAW REFORM COMMISSION‟S ROLEThe L
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LAW REFORM RESEARCH STAFFDirector o
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CONTACT DETAILSFurther information
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TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 1A Re
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CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATION
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Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provision
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TABLE OF CASESAlexandrou v Oxford [
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Kent v Griffiths [2001] QB 36 EngKi
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INTRODUCTIONARequest by the Attorne
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extent to which current law in Irel
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who may have had a “reasonable ex
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1.10 The 2006 Report of the Nationa
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Work had also been done on planning
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1.21 The Irish Government‟s 2000
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ecommendations to the Government on
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that the enactment of legislation s
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circumstances in which a duty to in
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Russia, Switzerland and a number of
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inconvenience to the would-be-rescu
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2.18 Lord Atkin then went on to exp
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intervene and rescue. 39 This has b
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a duty to control the conduct of ot
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voluntarily assumed responsibility
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competence and ability to treat the
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property in a public place and a ve
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is an occupational first-aider pres
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human being whose life is in peril
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without an option to avoid being su
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(d)Economic Arguments2.72 In Stovin
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(g)Indeterminate Number of ClaimsIn
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there is no greater legal basis for
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3CHAPTER 3DUTY OF CARE AND STANDARD
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whereby the courts may, as a matter
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conduct in the future. 18 In this w
Page 75 and 76: “Any person who intervenes volunt
Page 77 and 78: leaves the victim in a worse positi
Page 79 and 80: Samaritan could be held liable for
Page 81 and 82: 3.36 It must also be borne in mind
Page 83 and 84: permissible in the case of ordinary
Page 85 and 86: scenarios where there is a lack of
Page 87 and 88: Commission observes that a finding
Page 89 and 90: In this regard, it is noted that th
Page 91 and 92: escuer, a quality service is provid
Page 93 and 94: 3.74 Where the undertaking is a pro
Page 95 and 96: volunteer fails to turn up, it is v
Page 97 and 98: equivalent services. Furthermore, t
Page 99 and 100: precedent for future claims against
Page 101 and 102: would seem to imply that the standa
Page 103 and 104: that it was unlikely that liability
Page 105 and 106: 4CHAPTER 4THE CONTENTS OF THE GOOD
Page 107 and 108: often important to distinguish care
Page 109 and 110: made those decisions, transfers to
Page 111 and 112: condition that the Good Samaritan a
Page 113 and 114: defined “render” as “[t]o giv
Page 115 and 116: 4.24 The Commission notes that some
Page 117 and 118: equirement of rendering emergency c
Page 119 and 120: statutes in the United States, whil
Page 121 and 122: property is not included. To the ex
Page 123 and 124: 4.41 In the Australian Capital Terr
Page 125: surgical aid in case of urgent need
Page 129 and 130: heart action or circulation of bloo
Page 131 and 132: emergency contains in section 11 of
Page 133 and 134: precise definition of “good faith
Page 135 and 136: 4.82 In the Consultation Paper 135
Page 137 and 138: the organisation‟s work in determ
Page 139 and 140: 5CHAPTER 5SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATION
Page 141 and 142: APPENDIXDRAFT CIVIL LIABILITY (GOOD
Page 143 and 144: DRAFT CIVIL LIABILITY (GOOD SAMARIT
Page 145 and 146: (e) The individual was capable of a
Page 147: Effect on common law and statutory
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