In this season of goodwill toward all comes a timely ruling addressing the scope of California’s Good Samaritan law, Health and Safety Code section 1799.102.
In Valdez v. Costco Wholesale Corp., the California Court of Appeal concluded the Good Samaritan law protects an employee from liability for his good faith actions in intervening to stop a fistfight between two customers at his worksite.On Jan. 19, 2018, Mark Valdez was in his car at a Costco gas station. Joseph Lizarraga, a neighbor with whom Valdez had an ongoing feud, approached Valdez’s car, opened Valdez’s car door, and began punching Valdez. Valdez fought back.
Valdez argued on appeal only that Terrones was not a Good Samaritan within the meaning of the California statute.Health and Safety Code section 1799.
Lizarraga hit Valdez in the head repeatedly. The men ignored Terrones’s demand that they stop. Valdez placed Lizarraga in a headlock and would not release him. The fight only ended when Terrones separated the men. That, said the court, meant when Terrones intervened, both men needed medical attention and the way Terrones intervened constituted rendering emergency nonmedical assistance to the men.
The court concluded the fistfight was an “emergency” as defined. Had Terrones not intervened, the fight would have continued. Therefore, by intervening to end the fight when and how he did, Terrones was rendering emergency nonmedical assistance while at the scene of an emergency. And there was no question Terrones acted in good faith. Consequently, he was “shielded from liability as a Good Samaritan.
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