What should I do if I see a car crash?
Your first priority after seeing a car crash should be your own safety. Get to a place of safety and stop your vehicle. If it is safe to do so, get out of your vehicle and check to see if anyone is injured.
If there are injuries, significant damage to the vehicles or you believe any drivers are impaired – call emergency services for help.
Take note of the vehicles and people involved in the crash – license plate numbers and brief descriptions of the cars will be important if anyone leaves the scene. If one of the cars leaves the scene of an accident they will be subject to a police investigation.
In very serious cases, you may be called to action to help a victim. An actual danger to the lives of the persons involved in the crash may reasonably require you to help. In Corothers v. Slobodian 1975 2 S.C.R. 633, the Supreme Court of Canada wrote: “Danger invites rescue. The cry of distress is the summons to relief.”
In Ontario there are two important areas of law to consider when helping an injured person in a crash. The case law of “rescue” and the Good Samaritan Act, 2001.
RESCUE
The law of “rescue” has been developed over hundreds of years. In Ontario, courts will compensate rescuers injured by the danger caused by a person who creates it. A person who negligently places himself or herself in a position of danger will be responsible for injury suffered by a rescuer.
A rescuer must use reasonable care during the rescue attempt, and there must be an actual danger to the person being rescued.
Examples of actual dangers include fire or explosion of a vehicle, a person being attacked by a group of people, persons bleeding heavily after being thrown from their vehicle in a crash.
Examples where no actual danger was found include pushing a car out of fuel in the middle of an intersection, approaching a fallen power line when the victim warns you to stay away, falling on an icy road where emergency services were already present at the scene of a crash.
GOOD SAMARITAN ACT
The Good Samaritan Act in Ontario protects individuals from being sued by persons they help. It states that a person who voluntarily provides emergency assistance to a person ill, injured or unconscious as a result of accident is not liable for damages that result (unless the damages were caused by gross negligence).
CONCLUSION
If you witness a crash – take care of your safety first. Do your best to get help and take note of the people involved in the crash. If you are called to action by an actual danger and injured while doing so – you may be able to sue the person who created that danger. If you hurt a victim while doing your best to provide emergency first aid, the Good Samaritan Act could protect you from being sued.