The law requires every person to help another whose life is in danger. This applies to drivers involved in road accidents as well as to anyone who witnesses a situation requiring quick intervention in order to prevent tragic consequences.

For example: your neighbour suffers a heart attack and suddenly collapses on his lawn. You are obliged to assist him by calling an ambulance and by physically helping if you have the capacity or the knowledge.

You are respecting your duty to provide assistance each time you personally offer the physical help needed immediately or whenever you seek help by calling the police, fire department, or paramedics.

Take note! You are not obliged to provide assistance at any cost! You are not obliged to come to the rescue if it involves too great a risk to your life, the lives of others, or for any other reasonable grounds.

For example: You arrive at the scene of an accident where there are dozens of victims. After contacting emergency services, you help the victims who are the worst-off. In theory, the injuries that you didn’t have the time to help with will not be your responsibility.

Another example: You witness an accident where a car plunges into the river. If you don’t know how to swim, you have no obligation to try to save the driver by diving into the water yourself. You still are obliged to call for help right away.

The law holds that a person who assists another cannot be held liable for the harm that was caused by his intervention. This rule is called the “good Samaritan” defence.

But be careful! This defence cannot be used if the damage 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, you hate the victim and delay your call for assistance, thus prolonging the victim’s suffering);
  
• a person commits gross negligence if his conduct demonstrates recklessness, carelessness or negligence toward others (for example, in an effort to save someone’s life, you injure several others and these injuries were foreseeable).

A rescuer is expected to intervene whenever necessary and to employ whatever reasonable means may successfully resolve the situation.

It would be truly careless of a rescuer to act, knowing that there is no chance of success. The rule is simple: the rescuer must be neither too rash nor too careless; if he is, he may aggravate an already difficult situation.

The courts overlook damages caused by the rescuer’s fault. If, for example, you try to help someone by giving her CPR, and you break two ribs in the process, the courts cannot hold you liable for this unfortunate incident.

The courts are not this understanding when the damages were caused by a rash effort on the part of the rescuer.

Yes. There is a compensation plan for people who suffer damage while performing acts of good citizenship. The plan was implemented by the government in accordance with the Act to promote good citizenship. It provides minimal compensation to rescuers who, in a non-professional capacity, provided assistance to another because they had reasonable grounds to believe that the person’s life or physical integrity was in danger.

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

The Act provides compensation for the following:

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

No. The compensation offered in the Act to promote good citizenship is available only if you aren’t eligible for compensation under another law passed by the National Assembly of Quebec (such as the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases or the Crime Victims Compensation Act) or if you chose not to receive compensation under the Automobile Insurance Act.

Yes. The law states that if a rescuer dies, his dependants are entitled to benefits provided for under the Act.

The term “dependant” includes married and common-law spouses, children under 18 and adult children attending an educational institution.

Your claim must be filed within a year of the rescuer’s injury or death.

When claiming funeral costs, you must file your claim in the year the expenses were paid.

If you don’t file a claim within the required period, the law presumes that you have waived your right to compensation.