So Sue Me!

If I pull you out of a burning car or rescue you from swirling waters, don't you think I deserve something?

The California Supreme Court thinks I deserve a lawsuit. Hogwash!

Four of the stodgy jurists believe the location of California's Good Samaritan Law - not what it said, mind you, the location - was the determining factor in deciphering what lawmakers meant when they wrote it. Based on the location, these brain surgeons decided the law was meant only to protect actions like bleeding control and CPR.

All fine and dandy, unless you pull a coworker out of a car you believe might blow up. In that case, says the court, the victim is free to sue your butt for any supposed injury you may inflict.

Umm...why help anybody?

To their credit, the other three jurists disagreed and their analysis of the situation is right on target. They got the point of the law. Of course, if there was any question, why didn't they just ask the guys who wrote it. Most of them are still in office, the thing was written less than 30 years ago.

Oh well. Luckily I'm getting paid to save lives (not that saving lives is a full-time commitment or anything) and wouldn't be covered either way. Let's just hope the guy who drives by when I'm laying upside down on the side of the road with my car on fire and the wheels still spinning didn't read the newspaper or watch TV. Because, let's face it, ignorance is bliss when I'm about to fry from a roadside slip.