Minister Kirron Kher has stressed on the need for bringing about a Good Samaritan Law in India, citing a study according to which 3 out of 4 persons in India are unlikely to step forward to help injured victims on the road. Kher has introduced a bill in Parliament titled Good Samaritan (Protection from Civil and Criminal Liabilities) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, 2014, to protect good Samaritans from civil and criminal liabilities by establishing a supportive legal environment. The idea is to encourage bystanders to come forward and help an injured person on the road. Also, the objective of the Bill is to ensure that ordinary people who help injured persons do not face harassment and intimidation. Kher said that rapid emergency care including assistance from bystanders can save over 70,000 lives every year. According to a national study conducted by Save Life Foundation (SLF) in 2013, three out of four people in India are unlikealy to step forward to help an injured person on the road. To top it, Delhi residents are considered the most unlikely ones to step forward, according to the study. Incidentally, IHIF is working together with SLF in many areas of Road Safety. The proposed Bill looks at three important aspects of this issue -- the rights of a Good Samaritan who helps a victim in need of emergency care, the duties of a hospital with respect to provision of emergency care and first aid, and directions to law enforcement authorities with regard to questioning a Good Samaritan. The Bill places safeguards in cases where the Good Samaritan agrees to help with the investigation of the cases, all the while ensuring that the onus of evidence collection and investigation falls on the law enforcement agencies, and not on the Good Samaritan. It also give clear directions to hospitals to not demand payment of whole or part of treatment fees from the Good Samaritan, and not delay treatment for payment of hospital fees. A Good Samaritan Fund is proposed to process claims of hospitals in such cases.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 05:24:37 +0000
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