Technically, yes — anyone can file a lawsuit against you for giving CPR, but winning one is a different matter. Every state and Washington, D.C. has a Good Samaritan law that shields bystanders who provide emergency aid in good faith. A 30-year review of U.S. court cases found only about 170 lawsuits tied to CPR use or nonuse, with over $620 million awarded for delays in providing CPR compared to roughly $120,000 in total damages for actually performing it. The legal risk of stepping in is small. The legal risk of doing nothing is larger.
How Good Samaritan Laws Protect You
Good Samaritan laws exist to solve one problem: bystanders freeze during emergencies because they’re afraid of getting sued. These statutes grant immunity from civil liability when you voluntarily help someone who appears to be in medical distress. If a stranger collapses at a grocery store and you start chest compressions, the law protects you from a damages claim even if something goes wrong during the rescue.
The protections originally applied to physicians helping outside their offices, but most states expanded coverage long ago to include anyone who offers reasonable emergency assistance. A bystander with no medical background who performs CPR is protected under the same framework as an off-duty nurse who stops at a car accident. What matters is that the helper is acting as a volunteer, not under a professional obligation to respond.
What You Have to Do to Stay Protected
Good Samaritan immunity isn’t automatic. Your actions have to meet a few straightforward conditions that essentially amount to being a reasonable, well-meaning person trying to help.
- Act in good faith. You have to genuinely be trying to help, not using the situation for some other purpose.
- Respond to an actual emergency. The protection applies at the scene of a medical crisis, not in a non-emergency situation where you decide someone needs care.
- Don’t accept payment. The moment you take compensation, you’re no longer a volunteer. A thank-you gift from a bystander or an airline doesn’t count.
- Stay within your knowledge. CPR and AED use are reasonable for most people. Attempting something far beyond your training is not.
You do not need a current CPR certification to be protected. Most states cover untrained bystanders who make a good-faith effort during a genuine emergency. Training helps you perform CPR effectively, but lacking a certificate doesn’t strip away your legal protection in the vast majority of jurisdictions.
What About Broken Ribs?
This is the scenario that scares most people: you perform CPR, crack a rib, and get sued. The reality is different. Rib fractures happen in roughly 55% of CPR cases according to a 2024 systematic review, and some type of CPR-related injury shows up in about 60% of patients.1National Library of Medicine. Rib Fractures and Other Injuries After Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Non-Traumatic Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Effective chest compressions take significant force. Breaking a rib is a predictable side effect of doing CPR correctly, not evidence that something went wrong.
Good Samaritan laws account for this directly. Unintentionally cracking a rib during compressions is ordinary negligence at worst, and ordinary negligence is exactly what these laws forgive. A person alive with a broken rib is in far better shape than a person who received no CPR at all.
Do You Need Consent Before Starting?
If the person is conscious and responsive, ask. A simple “You’ve collapsed. Can I help you?” is enough. If they say no, you can’t proceed with physical aid, but you should still call 911.
When someone is unconscious, unresponsive, or clearly unable to communicate, the law applies implied consent. The reasoning is straightforward: a reasonable person having a cardiac arrest would want someone to perform CPR on them, so you don’t need to wait for permission that can’t be given.2StatPearls. Good Samaritan Laws The same principle applies to children when a parent or guardian isn’t present. Courts are extremely unlikely to penalize someone who performed emergency care on a child in good faith when no authorized adult was available.
When Good Samaritan Protection Runs Out
The legal shield has limits. A few kinds of conduct fall outside it.
Gross Negligence and Reckless Conduct
Gross negligence means a conscious disregard for someone’s safety, and it’s a fundamentally different category than accidentally breaking a rib. An untrained bystander who tries to perform a tracheotomy with a pocket knife, or who moves a person with a suspected spinal injury without any reason to do so, has crossed into territory where Good Samaritan laws won’t help. The standard is whether a reasonable person would recognize the action as dangerous or wildly outside their competence.
On-Duty Professional Responders
Paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters on duty aren’t covered by Good Samaritan laws, because responding to emergencies is their job, not a voluntary act. The same applies to doctors and nurses treating patients within their workplace. These professionals are held to a higher standard and governed by professional licensing and malpractice rules.2StatPearls. Good Samaritan Laws An off-duty nurse who encounters a cardiac arrest while shopping, however, is acting as a volunteer and is generally covered like any other bystander.
Walking Away Mid-Rescue
Once you start providing aid, you’ve taken on a limited responsibility. Walking away in the middle of CPR can expose you to liability, particularly if the person was relying on your help and no one else stepped in. You’re expected to continue until emergency medical services arrive or until someone with equal or greater training relieves you.
AEDs and Emergencies on Airplanes
Using an automated external defibrillator on someone in cardiac arrest is covered by the same Good Samaritan principles as CPR. A federal statute, the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, adds another layer of immunity: anyone who uses or attempts to use an AED on someone experiencing a perceived medical emergency is immune from civil liability for any resulting harm, unless the harm was caused by willful misconduct or gross negligence.3GovInfo. 42 USC 238q – Liability Regarding Emergency Use of Automated External Defibrillators Modern AEDs walk you through each step with voice prompts. If you see one and someone is in cardiac arrest, use it.
Emergencies at 35,000 feet raise a jurisdictional puzzle, since you’re not in any particular state. The Aviation Medical Assistance Act handles this by protecting medical personnel who provide good-faith emergency care during a flight from liability under both federal and state law, with the same carve-out for gross negligence and willful misconduct.4CDC. Perspectives: Responding to Medical Emergencies When Flying
You Can Still Be Sued — You’ll Just Win
Good Samaritan laws don’t prevent someone from filing a lawsuit. Anyone can sue anyone for anything. What these laws do is give you a strong legal defense that will almost certainly result in dismissal. If you met the basic conditions, a court will apply the statute and rule in your favor.
The distinction matters because even a frivolous lawsuit creates stress and potential legal costs. The personal liability coverage in a standard homeowners or renters insurance policy typically covers legal defense costs if you’re sued over an accident, including an incident where emergency aid went wrong. If your liability limits are low, an umbrella policy extends that coverage further and generally pays legal fees on top of any damages.
In practice, the odds of being sued for performing CPR are vanishingly small. The 30-year review of U.S. cases found only about 170 CPR-related personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits, and the overwhelming majority of legal exposure fell on people and institutions that failed to provide CPR, not on those who performed it.
State-by-State Differences
Good Samaritan protections come from state law, so the specifics vary. The core principles are consistent, but a few differences are worth knowing.
Most states protect any bystander who provides reasonable emergency help, regardless of training. A handful limit full protection to trained rescuers or healthcare workers, though they often carve out exceptions for cardiac arrest so that anyone can act. If you want certainty, a quick look at your state’s specific statute will confirm the scope.
The other variation involves whether you have any legal obligation to help at all. In most states, you have no duty to rescue a stranger. You can walk past someone in cardiac arrest and face no legal consequence, however uncomfortable that sits morally. A small number of states, including Minnesota, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Louisiana, have failure-to-act laws requiring bystanders to provide at least minimal assistance like calling 911. In Minnesota, failing to provide reasonable assistance can result in a misdemeanor charge and a fine of up to $300. Penalties in other duty-to-rescue states are similarly minor, but the obligation exists.
Across every jurisdiction, the answer to the question is the same. If you perform CPR in good faith during a real emergency, the law is on your side.