Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Legal Whine Whine Whine question

So, in thinking about "Whine, Whine, Whine" I was wondering (and I am no legal expert so I'm not even sure if this applies) but wouldn't Good Samaritan laws protect Superman from being sued by that guy?

According to wikipedia:
Good Samaritan laws in the United States and Canada are laws protecting from blame those who choose to aid others who are injured or ill. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.

I guess you could say that the scenario doesn't strictly fall under the law because Superman was not aiding and injured party, but attempting to prevent such an injury...but still I'm sure there has to be some legal precedent.

Of course, my biggest question about that episode has always been why he went after the guy instead of catching the speaker itself...

There's an obvious reason he went after the guy...so they could make an episode out of it. IF he catches the speaker, there's no plot.

Woody, you spoilsport. :p

I've always wondered that myself, Katey . . . in fact, there's a fic somewhere (I can't remember what it's called, or who it's by) where, after a revelation, Lois actually TELLS Clark to catch the speaker instead of grabbing the guy.

And you've brought up an interesting point about the Good Samaritan laws. I don't really know much about them (I don't think I've heard them mentioned more then three times in my whole life), so it's possible that the average Joe wouldn't know anything about them at all, thus making the episode just that little bit more believable.

Yeah, I remember that fic. In it, Lois is sidled up to by Dan while Clark is away, just after the revelation. Something about what Lois means to Clark.

Well, this is a little different in every state. And you can still be pulled into court. It doesn't mean that they will win. But if I remember correctly in Whine, Whine, Whine, the guy was trying to say that Superman induced the injuries where none existed before. (Of course, the guy would have been dead otherwise.)

Also if you have certain types of training, you would be held to higher standards. An EMT stopping to render aid while off duty is still held to a higher standard that than the average Joe would be. For instances, average Joe comes along and finds someone lying on the ground in a twisted position. The first impulse is to untwist them. Well, say that person has a broken neck but no spinal injury. They don't know that. So following their first impulse they move that person, and the person then suffers a paralyzing injury. That person is not likely to be liable. Now if an EMT came along and did that then they could be considered liable. Of course, that might be hard to prove. So the reason I say all this is suppose Superman has had EMT training as some has suggested? (I actually made him a paramedic.) That means he is held to higher standards. Of course the situation in WWW was a little different than just rendering aid.

Point of correction (as an volly EMT...)
EMTs are pretty much under the same law. They have to prove 3 or 4 things:
1. That they had a DUTY to act (if they are not "employed" or on call at that time, they have no duty to act)
2. They the person was sick/injured to begin with
3. They did more harm to the person.
4. Other EMTs with the same level of training would not have done similarly.

Just FYI (I think I recalled those all correctly!)
Jo

As a former CPR instructor for the American Heart Association, I can tell you the situation is similar with persons administering CPR. A person receiving CPR can pink up and look (relatively) good to a bystander, and then die anyway. Good Samaritans administering CPR have been sued by the relatives of the victim because he died, but as far as I know, such a case has never been won. (Darned good thing, too. These days, lots of people won't administer CPR anyway because of the risk of contagious diseases. The last thing anyone needs is people to be afraid to help because of lawsuits.)

The situation in Whine Whine Whine might be in one of those legal gray areas that would probably end up being hashed out in higher courts or dealt with in the state legislature.

Nan

As this is a general query/discussion on the characters and the show and doesn't seem to be related to a fanfic WIP, I'm moving this one into the LNC folder.

LabRat