The Good Samaritan and Medical Professional Bill 2016 passed by the Karnataka Government gives legal protection to those who rush accident victims to the hospital. It is the first of its kind in India.
Not many people come forward to help an accident victim as they fear they will be questioned by the hospital authorities and harassed by the police. With the Good Samaritan Bill coming into effect the citizens can readily help the victims. The bill ensures that they can leave the hospital soon after they bring the victim to the hospital. They do not have to visit police stations or the hospital repeatedly for questioning. The government will also provide financial incentives to people who rush to help strangers.
Many lives can be saved if the victims are brought to the hospital within the golden hour – the crucial first hour after a traumatic injury – facilitating immediate treatment. Karnataka figures among the top five states in terms of road accidents.
The phrase ‘the Good Samaritan’ is of Biblical origin. According to a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, a traveller is stripped, beaten and abandoned on the road. He is ignored by a priest and a Levite who passes that way. Finally a Samaritan – member of an ethnic group – comes to the rescue of the victim. So the phrase ‘the Good Samaritan’ came to mean someone to help a stranger.
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