Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Montana

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 Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-714 (Limits on liability for emergency care rendered at scene of accident or emergency) — immunity for emergency care rendered without compensation.
Scope of protection Any person — licensed physician, volunteer firefighter, or otherwise — who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or assistance at the scene of an accident or emergency is not liable for civil damages, except for gross negligence or willful or wanton acts or omissions.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute Mont. Code Ann. § 50-6-505 — a person who provides emergency care by use of an AED in compliance with the law and department rules, and one who provides CPR to a person on whom an AED is or may be used, are immune from civil liability for a personal injury resulting from that care.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Montana, Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-714 protects any person — licensed physician, volunteer firefighter, or ordinary passerby — who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or assistance at the scene of an accident or emergency. AED use falls under Mont. Code Ann. § 50-6-505, which shields both the person who uses the device in compliance with the law and the one who performs CPR on a person to whom an AED is or may be applied. In both cases, immunity yields only in the presence of gross negligence or willful or wanton acts.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Montana lays on no one the duty to intervene — helping remains a free choice, that of a heart unwilling to stay a spectator. That choice is protected when made in good faith and without pay, and AED use — like CPR performed while awaiting the device — falls within that coverage. Fear of a lawsuit should therefore not hold you back: here, the law walks alongside the one who acts, it does not penalize them.

Why training matters

In Montana, the sheer vastness of the land means help can take long minutes, sometimes more, to reach an isolated victim. Training in CPR and first aid means preparing to fill that decisive gap: to recognize a cardiac arrest, to sustain circulation without faltering, to use an AED with assurance until the professionals arrive. Under Montana's big sky, the first rescuer is not always in uniform — it is often a neighbor, a hiker, a loved one who took the time to learn. Make that choice today, and stand ready to be, when the day comes, the one who is counted on.