Do’s and don’t’s under Washington’s Good Samaritan Statute

Remember the season finale of Seinfeld, where Jerry Seinfeld gets thrown in jail for not rendering assistance to an overweight man who is getting robbed at gunpoint? That was in New York. In Washington we don’t have the laws imposing a duty to render help or first aid, unless you caused the situation. So if you chose to look the other way, no one will arrest you or sue for damages. But the statute says that if you do volunteer to render emergency assistance, you are immune from any liability for the resulting damages, unless your actions are so careless as to rise to the level of “gross negligence” or “willful or wanton conduct”. RCW 4.24.300.  So help away, but be careful.