Over 295,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year and only 8% of them survive. This remarkable statistic highlights the need for Good Samaritans to respond in an emergency when trained professionals are not immediately available.  What you may not know is that Pennsylvania's bystanders currently are not fully protected under the Good Samaritan Law.

Unfortunately in Pennsylvania, this needed response is stymied because of an outdated Good Samaritan law that fails to protect from personal liability bystanders and off-duty professional first responders. Currently, bystanders - including off-duty first responders - who perform CPR or aid someone in an emergency and businesses who wish to place automatic external defibrillators (AED) on their premises are at risk of being sued.

Pennsylvania citizens, businesses and off-duty first responders shouldn’t have to think twice about personal liability when they are trying to do the right thing in an emergency, especially when a stranger’s hands and the presence of an AED often means the difference between life and death. Help protect our Good Samaritans.

Send your message now in support of Senate Bill 351.