Good Samaritan Laws in Ontario: Can You Be Sued for Helping After an Accident?

October 30, 2026, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Imagine driving along a Waterloo Region road when you come across a serious collision.

A person is injured. Another driver is calling 911. Someone is trying to help.

But you hesitate.

What if I make the injury worse? What if the person sues me?

Ontario law provides important protection for people who voluntarily provide emergency first aid in certain circumstances.

The legislation is called the Good Samaritan Act, 2001.

What Does Ontario's Good Samaritan Act Do?

Ontario's Good Samaritan Act, 2001 protects certain people who voluntarily provide emergency first aid or health care assistance without a reasonable expectation of compensation.

Under the Act, a person covered by the legislation is generally protected from liability for damages resulting from negligence while providing that assistance, unless the damages were caused by gross negligence.

This protection is important because emergencies are not controlled environments.

A person providing first aid may have seconds to make a decision, limited information and no access to the equipment available in a hospital.

The law recognizes that reality.

Who Is Protected?

The Act applies to two broad categories.

First, it protects qualifying health care professionals who voluntarily provide emergency health care services or first aid outside a hospital or other appropriate health-care facility.

Second, it protects an individual who is not a health-care professional when that person provides emergency first aid assistance at the immediate scene of an accident or emergency.

The assistance must be voluntary and provided without a reasonable expectation of compensation or reward.

Does Ontario Require You to Help?

The Good Samaritan Act provides protection when someone chooses to provide assistance. It does not generally create a broad legal requirement for every bystander to intervene in an emergency.

That distinction matters.

The purpose of the legislation is to encourage people to provide emergency assistance without automatically exposing them to a negligence lawsuit if something goes wrong.

What If You Make the Injury Worse?

This is probably the question people worry about most.

Suppose you come across a collision and an injured person needs immediate assistance. You provide first aid, but something goes wrong and the person's injury becomes worse.

The fact that the outcome was not perfect does not automatically mean you are legally responsible.

The Good Samaritan Act specifically protects qualifying assistance from liability for negligence, subject to its exception for gross negligence.

That is an important distinction.

The law does not require an ordinary person arriving at an accident scene to behave like an emergency physician.

What Is Gross Negligence?

Gross negligence is a substantially more serious concept than an ordinary mistake.

The Good Samaritan Act specifically excludes protection where damages are caused by gross negligence.

Whether conduct amounts to gross negligence depends on the facts of the particular situation.

This means the protection should not be interpreted as a licence to act recklessly. Someone providing emergency assistance should still act reasonably in the circumstances and within the limits of their knowledge and abilities.

What Should You Do If You Arrive First at a Collision?

If you encounter a serious collision, safety comes first.

If possible:

1. Call 911 or ensure someone else has done so.
2. Tell emergency dispatch what you can see.
3. Avoid putting yourself in danger from traffic, fire, electricity or other hazards.
4. Follow instructions from emergency personnel.
5. Provide first aid within your level of training and ability.
6. Do not attempt unnecessary movement of an injured person unless the circumstances require it.
7. Remain at the scene if emergency personnel need information from you.

The best assistance is not necessarily the most dramatic assistance.

Sometimes the most important thing you can do is call for professional help quickly.

What About Health-Care Professionals?

The Act also provides protection to qualifying health-care professionals who voluntarily provide emergency health care or first aid outside an appropriate health-care facility.

The statutory protection is not unlimited. The circumstances in which the professional acts and the nature of the assistance provided matter.

Health-care professionals should therefore understand both the protection offered by the Act and its limitations.

Why This Matters After a Waterloo Region Collision

Waterloo Region has a combination of urban streets, rural roads, highways, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles, farm vehicles and increasingly busy traffic routes.

A serious collision can happen anywhere—and the first person to reach an injured victim may simply be another driver or passerby.

Knowing that Ontario law provides a measure of protection can remove one reason people might otherwise hesitate to help.

Good Samaritan Protection Is Not the Same as Personal Injury Compensation

It is also important not to confuse the Good Samaritan Act with Ontario's personal injury and automobile insurance laws.

The Good Samaritan Act concerns liability for emergency assistance.

It does not determine whether an injured collision victim is entitled to accident benefits or compensation from an at-fault party.

Those are separate legal questions.

If you have been injured in an accident, the circumstances of the collision, the nature of your injuries, available insurance coverage and the applicable Ontario legislation all need to be considered.

Injured in an Ontario Accident?

If you were injured in a motor vehicle collision or another serious accident, you may have questions about medical treatment, accident benefits, lost income, rehabilitation and potential compensation.

Deutschmann de Koning Law helps injured people understand their legal rights and navigate Ontario's personal injury system.

Ontario law encourages people to help in emergencies by providing important protection for qualifying Good Samaritans. If you see someone injured, don't let an understandable fear of legal consequences automatically prevent you from calling for help or providing reasonable emergency assistance.

About Deutschmann de Koning Law

Deutschmann de Koning Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann and Nick de Koning focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.ddinjurylaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.