Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Texas

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 Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.151 (good faith emergency care).
Scope of protection Protects a person who in good faith administers emergency care at the scene of an emergency or in a hospital, without expectation of remuneration. Not liable in civil damages unless the act is willfully or wantonly negligent.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.151(a) expressly covers administration of emergency care using an AED, including by an employee or volunteer at an institution. AED program standards are established under Chapter 779, Health and Safety Code.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Texas, § 74.151 of the Civil Practice & Remedies Code shields anyone who in good faith administers emergency care — at the scene of an emergency or in a hospital — without expecting payment, from all civil liability. The rescuer answers for nothing unless the act is willfully or wantonly negligent. Section 74.151(a) names the use of an AED specifically, including by an employee or volunteer at an institution.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Texas leaves everyone free to help or not: no law requires a bystander to step in. That freedom comes with a strong guarantee — someone who acts in good faith, AED in hand, only crosses into liability through plain recklessness. In other words, hesitating is never punished, and helping should never be feared.

Why training matters

Texas is vast, its distances are real, and between the 911 call and the arrival of help there's a stretch of time when only the bystander can act. The law protects you broadly; what it can't hand you is the know-how to compress a chest at the right rhythm or read a defibrillator's prompts without trembling. A CPR and first-aid course closes exactly that gap, in a few hours that can reshape a life. Being ready, in Texas, is refusing to be condemned to watch.