Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Nevada

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 Nevada Good Samaritan law — NRS 41.500 (Nevada Revised Statutes § 41.500)
Scope of protection Any person who in good faith and gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency is not liable for civil damages for any act or omission, except acts or omissions amounting to gross negligence. Protection covers bystanders, volunteers, search-and-rescue members, and persons performing CPR or using a defibrillator. It does not apply to a person who caused the original injury or who acts for compensation.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute AED-specific immunity is provided within NRS 41.500: a person who gratuitously and in good faith uses an automated external defibrillator to render emergency care is not liable for civil damages absent gross negligence (AED programs also addressed at NRS 450B.610).
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Nevada, NRS 41.500 shields anyone who in good faith and gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency from civil liability, absent gross negligence. The protection expressly reaches bystanders, volunteers, search-and-rescue members, and those performing CPR or using a defibrillator. It does not, however, cover the person who caused the original injury or one who acts for pay.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Nevada does not legally require you to step in: coming to someone's aid remains a free choice, not a legal obligation. But the law removes the very thing that holds so many people back — the fear of being sued — by covering every good-faith act, CPR and AED included. In other words, hesitation should no longer stem from legal risk, only from uncertainty about what to do.

Why training matters

From the bustling casinos of the Strip to Nevada's vast deserts, cardiac arrest can strike anywhere — often far from immediate help. Every minute without resuscitation drops survival odds by roughly ten percent: your early action is worth lives, quite literally. Training in CPR and first aid gives you the clear head and the precise moves that fill that critical gap before paramedics arrive. Take a recognized course and turn that uncertainty into quiet confidence.