IOSH welcomes ‘good Samaritans’ law
IOSH has given its support to changes in the law that are designed to help ‘everyday heroes’ volunteer or go to the rescue of people in danger without the fear of being sued.
The move comes after the Ministry of Justice announced on 2 June that it would ask judges to give weight to three additional factors when deciding negligence cases:
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If the person was doing something for the “benefit of society” — to make sure the court will give consideration to the fact people were doing a good deed like volunteering, running an event or trip, or helping out by clearing snow.
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If they had been acting in a “generally positive way” — to make sure the court will give consideration to the fact that people may have taken care when organising an activity but an accident has happened.
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If they were “acting in emergency” — if they stepped in to help someone in danger but something went wrong.
The Government has said that the changes will ensure that good Samaritans and community heroes will have the law on their side.
IOSH head of policy and public affairs Richard Jones said: “We fully support volunteering and broadly welcome the ‘good Samaritans’ law, if it helps encourage positive volunteering and more public spirit.
“Importantly, the proposals do expect people to behave responsibly — recognising that some media stories wrongly blame health and safety and ignore the competing desire to avoid making bad situations far, far worse.”
The Compensation Act 2006 allowed the ‘desirability’ or public benefit of activities to be taken into account when deciding on awards.
“It’s a shame this exaggerated fear of being sued ever developed in the first place and has unfairly given health and safety a bad name — when in fact, health and safety is all about taking sensible steps and saving lives,” added Mr Jones.
IOSH’s head of policy and public affairs said that the institution welcomed the Government’s moves to help address the root causes of fear, by curbing the referral fee system that arguably helped fuel the aggressive claims management marketing.
“Of course, the Government will need arrangements in place to look after anyone seriously harmed in the situations they describe — where people do their best but things still go wrong.”
The changes in the law are expected to come into force England and Wales next year.
IOSH welcomes ‘good Samaritans’ law
IOSH has given its support to changes in the law that are designed to help 'everyday heroes' volunteer or go to the rescue of people in danger without the fear of being sued.
Safety & Health Practitioner
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