Yes... Yes they can!
Source The Telegraph U.K
Alexandra Van Horn claims that Lisa Torti pulled her out of the vehicle, which had just crashed into a lamp post at 45mph, "like a rag doll" and contributed to her injuries.
Miss Torti, who was travelling in the car behind, says she believed the wrecked vehicle was about to burst into flames.
In a landmark decision that critics have said only proves the maxim that no good deed goes unpunished, the court decided that California's Good Samaritan law only protects people from liability if they are administering emergency aid.
Justice Carlos Moreno noted in the ruling that people were not obligated to come to someone's aid but, if they did so, they had a "duty to exercise due care".
The 4-3 ruling was criticised by dissenting judges as "illogical" and that the legislation clearly aimed "to encourage persons not to pass by those in need of emergency help, but to show compassion and render the necessary aid".
The two women and three other staff from a San Fernando Valley department store had gone out to a bar on Halloween for a night of drinking and dancing, leaving at 1.30am in two cars.
Ms Van Horn's lawyers questioned why Ms Torti, having pulled her out by her shoulder, "dropped" her next to the car if she believed it was about to explode.
"The moral here is if you are rescuing or helping someone in an emergency, be sure and administer some medical care. Carry Band-Aids!" said Jim Porter, a California lawyer.
OMG THANK YOU YOU SAVED MY LIFE!!!
... And now I'm going to sue you! >X)
Ingrates I say, Ingrates!
Yeah, it's always gotten me that people can be so literally ungrateful for their lives being saved. I admit I might have a hard time accepting that I'm still alive with severe disabilities if someone rescued me, but I'm sure I'd realize that they were trying their best to help me, and judge them based on their intention and the fact that they saved my life at all. But we also aren't told about just how drunk either of the two women in particular were; alcohol does affect judgment, and should have been taken into consideration.
It worries me that the judges who made the ruling said people aren't "obligated" to come to someone's aid. With all the other horror stories about people who stopped to help others, only to get sued or shot or raped or otherwise attacked for their good intentions, this is just going to discourage people from caring about each other and stopping to help even someone in obvious peril. How sad it is that the laws that are supposed to protect us are being twisted in this case to prevent that protection to both victim and helper.
Mental note: *if i'm ever in usland and see someone in trouble, just walk on by and leave them to die*
The article fails to mention whether the car exploded or not or if it was on fire when the person was pulled out.
I don't condone the sueing and stupid legal action, but I would be pissed off if I had aggrivated injuries because some dumbass thought that cars randomly explode when they hit things. If there's no flame, there's no explosion.
This said, I think it's dumbass to crash into a lamppost at 45mph.
Maybe it was a 1973 Buick Riviera?
Mind you, if you believe Hollywood, all a car has to do is crash for it to blow up.
The prosecuting lawyer makes a valid point, I wonder whether it was answered. But to be honest, I would have thought it was spur of the moment stuff. OMG, get her out of the car quick before something else happens! In the case of several motorway crashes here in the UK, that something else being another car coming along and not being able to stop in time....
But yes, that case does rather tell one to make a mental note that the next time someone's in trouble and you want to help, get them to sign a waiver first...
DW
I hate the way the news exaggerates and simplifies legal cases to present the myth that it is too easy to sue people. The fact is that legal suits are far too difficult and many strong cases don't even go to trial.
And this case sounds like it is quite valid if the lady pulled her from a NOT EXPLODING CAR.
A friend of mine and his brother helped some people after they'd crashed their car near his home. He had to pin the driver down while trying to support his head, since the guy was disoriented and his wife was going rather frantic.
I know the news has to simplify these things, but the article on this never mentioned that the driver was blind drunk, that they had two kids in the back seat, and there was no mention of the two people who sat in the rain trying to help them.
based on this article, it's good thing that the driver and his wife didn't try to sue my friend for holding the guy down for his own safety. >>;
Totally reminds me of the Incredibles.
"I saved your life!"
"You didn't save my life, you ruined my death!!"
I thought of the same thing when I clicked, TTG. But I didn't mention it, because the guy wanted to die, Mr. Incredible stopped him and broke his arm in the process. Regardless of intention, I think there's some validity to that guy being upset.
In before a Watchmen/Hancock/ reference.
*reloads* Ah NUTS.
~Rico
http://www.thisisbristol....78911-detail/article.html
This is probably what the lady in question was thinking might happen...
DW
