Fear of criminal consequences can make people hesitate to call for help during a suspected drug or alcohol overdose. Yet, Missouri law provides specific protections intended to encourage people to seek medical assistance when someone may be facing a serious emergency.
The Missouri Good Samaritan Law can protect both the person requesting assistance and the person experiencing the emergency. However, this protection applies only in certain circumstances and does not provide immunity from every criminal offense or legal consequence.
Who can receive protection
You may receive protection when you seek medical assistance in good faith for someone experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose or another medical emergency. The law can also protect you when you seek emergency assistance for yourself. A person experiencing an overdose may also qualify for protection when another person makes a good faith request for medical assistance on their behalf.
What qualifies as medical assistance
Seeking medical assistance is broader than calling 911. It can include reporting an overdose or other medical emergency to law enforcement, a poison control center or a medical provider. Protection can also extend to assisting someone who reports the emergency or providing care to the affected person while waiting for emergency assistance to arrive.
Which legal consequences are covered
When the statutory requirements are satisfied, you generally cannot be arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted, subjected to civil forfeiture or otherwise penalized for certain specified offenses when evidence of those offenses resulted from seeking or obtaining medical assistance.
Protected conduct includes certain controlled substance and alcohol offenses identified by Missouri law. The statute can also provide protection for certain violations of restraining orders and violations of probation or parole. This protection can be significant when evidence of an offense becomes known to police only because someone requested emergency medical help.
If you face criminal consequences after seeking emergency assistance in good faith, consider seeking legal guidance. Understanding whether the state’s Good Samaritan statute applies to the evidence and alleged offense can be an important part of evaluating your criminal defense options.