Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Delaware

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 16 Del. C. § 6801 — immunity for a person who voluntarily renders first aid or emergency assistance without expectation of compensation.
Scope of protection Protects a person who voluntarily and without expectation of compensation renders first aid, emergency treatment or rescue assistance to someone unconscious, ill, injured or in need of rescue. Immunity is lost for willful, wanton or reckless acts or gross negligence.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute 16 Del. C. § 6801 — Good Samaritan immunity extends to AED users, acquirers and CPR/AED trainers; excludes willful/wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Delaware, 16 Del. C. § 6801 protects the person who voluntarily and without expecting payment gives first aid, emergency treatment or rescue assistance to someone unconscious, ill, injured or otherwise in need—an immunity forfeited only through willful, wanton or reckless acts or gross negligence. That same statute reaches beyond bare hands: its protection extends to those who use an AED, as well as to acquirers and CPR/AED trainers, on the same terms.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Delaware sets no legal duty to rescue; stopping for a stranger in trouble is a choice, not a command. When that choice is made in good faith, the statute protects it—and it names AED use, along with the training behind it, as protected too. Let go of the fear of a lawsuit; lawmakers have already made sure it won't be the price of caring.

Why training matters

Cardiac arrest is a race against the clock: survival drops by roughly ten percent for every minute without CPR, and most outcomes are settled before the ambulance arrives rather than after. Whether on a Delaware beach boardwalk or in an office corridor, the bystander is the first link in the chain of survival, the one whose action counts most. The law has already erased the legal risk of stepping forward; training erases the doubt, so knowledge takes the place of panic when it matters. Be the one who is ready, and an ordinary day may end with a life still in it.