Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR South Carolina

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act South Carolina Good Samaritan law — S.C. Code Ann. § 15-1-310
Scope of protection Any person who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an accident or emergency is not liable for civil damages for any personal injury resulting from an act or omission in rendering the care, or from any failure to arrange further medical treatment, except for acts amounting to gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute AED immunity is provided at S.C. Code Ann. § 44-76-40: a designated AED user meeting the requirements of § 44-76-30, and any person acting in good faith and gratuitously, is immune from civil liability for use of an automated external defibrillator unless the use was grossly negligent.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In South Carolina, the Good Samaritan law (S.C. Code Ann. § 15-1-310) shields anyone who gratuitously and in good faith renders emergency care at the scene of an accident from civil liability. That protection reaches injury caused by an act, an omission, or even a failure to arrange further treatment, and it expressly extends to using an automated external defibrillator under § 44-76-40. Only gross negligence or willful, wanton misconduct crosses that line.

No duty to act, but every reason to

South Carolina places no legal duty on bystanders to step in; helping is a choice, never a mandate. Yet the moment you choose to act in good faith, the law stands with you, right down to reaching for the nearest AED. So the real question is never "am I allowed to help?" but "will I know what to do?".

Why training matters

The law protects you when you act, but it can't push on a chest or power on a defibrillator for you. In the minutes after cardiac arrest, every second without CPR erodes the odds of survival — and those seconds pass long before help arrives. Training in CPR and first aid turns a good intention into steady, effective hands. In South Carolina, the person best placed to save a life is usually the one already standing there.