Generally, yes. The law requires citizens to help someone whose life is in danger. This applies to drivers involved in road accidents and anyone who witnesses a situation requiring quick intervention to prevent tragic consequences.

Imagine that your neighbour suffers a heart attack and suddenly collapses on his lawn. You must help him by calling an ambulance and helping out in other ways if you able to and know what to do.

You are respecting your duty to provide assistance when you personally offer any physical help required immediately or when you get help by calling the police, fire department or an ambulance.

Take note! You are not obliged to provide assistance at any cost! You do not have to come to the rescue if it involves risking your life or the lives of others, or if you have another good reason.

Let's say that you arrive at the scene of an accident where there are dozens of victims. After contacting emergency services, you help the victims in the most difficulty. In theory, the injuries you didn’t have the time to tend to will not be your responsibility.

Here is another example: you see a car plunge into a river. If you don’t know how to swim, you are not obliged to try to save the driver by diving into the water. But you still have to call for help right away.

The law states that a person who helps someone in danger cannot be held responsible for the harm caused by their actions. This rule is called the “good Samaritan” defence.

But be careful! This defence cannot be used if the harm resulted from an intentional fault or gross negligence.

• A person commits an intentional fault when he intends to harm or cause injury to someone. For example, if you delayed your call for help because you disliked the victim and your actions prolonged the victim’s suffering, this might be considered intentional fault.
  
• A person commits gross negligence if his conduct demonstrates recklessness, carelessness or negligence toward others. For example, if, in an effort to save someone’s life, you cause injuries that easily could have been anticipated, this might be considered gross negligence.

A rescuer is expected to intervene when necessary and to use whatever reasonable means are available to deal with the situation.

If there is no chance of successfully dealing with the situation and the good Samaritan intervenes anyways, this would be considered to be reckless. The rule is this: the rescuer must be neither too rash nor too careless. Otherwise, he could make a difficult situation worse.

However, the courts will overlook damage caused by accident. For example, if you try to help someone by giving her CPR, and you break two ribs, the courts cannot hold you liable for this unfortunate incident.

The courts are not as understanding when the damages are caused by the rescuer's recklessness.

Yes. There is a compensation plan for people who suffer damage while performing acts of good citizenship. The plan was implemented by the government under the Act to promote good citizenship. It provides some compensation for rescuers who, in a non-professional capacity, provide assistance when they have reasonable grounds to believe someone's life or physical integrity is in danger.

Aside from this compensation, you also have a right to sue the person responsible for your injury to recover losses not covered by the compensation plan.

The Act provides compensation for the following:

• bodily injury
  
• damages to property (not exceeding $ 1,000 dollars)
  
• death