Overview
For this assignment, you will read the following case study and answer the following questions.
1. How did Torti's action not meet California's Good Samaritan laws?
2. Should both medical and nonmedical actions be covered under the Good Samaritan law?
3. What legal defense would Torti have in this case?
This assignment allows you to practice the following skills that are essential to your success in this course and the degree advancement program (DAP).
Critical inquiry/evidence-based medicine Students will demonstrate the ability to formulate a clinical question, search the medical literature, and assess the collected literature for quality, relevance, and limitations.
Assignment Requirements:
Please write a 1-2 page paper answering the above questions. Please use 12-point Times New Roman Font and please double-space your paper.
Please include 2 references to support your answers to the questions. Please have references no older than 10 years.
Please format citations and references using APA formatting. Please have a separate page for your reference list.
You are not required to have a title page, headers, or page numbers but can include any of these elements if you would like.
Case Study: Woman Sued for Aiding in Car Crash
In 2004, Lisa Torti and her coworker, Alexandra Van Horn, had been at a bar in Chatsworth, California, with a group of friends. After leaving the bar, the car Van Horn was riding in spun out of control and hit a telephone pole. Torti, who as a passenger in another car, was following them and witnessed the accident. Torti said that she thought she had seen smoke and feared the car would explode and offered to help Van Horn from the wreckage. Torti pulled her from the car, allegedly causing injury to Van Horn’s spine. Van Horn was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery and was found to be permanently paralyzed. Van Horn sued Torti for her injuries. Torti’s defense was that she was protected from legal action under California’s Good Samaritan laws. However, the California Supreme Court ruled that Van Horn may sue Torti for allegedly causing her friend’s paralysis because the state statute immunizing rescuers from liability applies only if the individual is providing medical care for emergency situations.