Good Samaritan statutes: a malpractice defense for "doing the right thing".

Abstract

Vascular surgeons are often called emergently to help treat bleeding patients. These cases may involve unexpected intraoperative bleeding, bleeding in the pregnant patient, or bleeding in patients in the emergency room. In many instances, the vascular surgeon is not "on call" and therefore has no legal duty to assist in the care of these patients. Unfortunately, because many of these types of cases result in litigation, some vascular surgeons refuse to respond to a call for help. Simply, it is important that vascular surgeons "do the right thing" and answer these requests for assistance. The legal system recognizes the need to protect physicians who appropriately respond and, therefore, Good Samaritan statutes were adopted.