Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Nebraska

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 Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,186 (Good Samaritan) — immunity for emergency care rendered gratuitously at the scene of an accident or other emergency.
Scope of protection No person who gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an accident or other emergency is liable for civil damages for any act or omission in rendering that care or in arranging for medical treatment, unless gross negligence is proven.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection Protected
Statute Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-51,102 — except for a health care professional acting in that capacity or in a health care facility, a person who in good faith delivers emergency care by use of an AED (per 172 NAC 14) is not liable for civil damages; no immunity, however, for willful, wanton, or grossly negligent acts.
No legal duty to rescue AED protection

Your protection under the law

In Nebraska, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,186 protects anyone who gratuitously renders emergency care at the scene of an accident or other emergency: no civil damages may be claimed for any act, omission, or even for arranging medical treatment. That immunity falls away only where gross negligence is proven. AED protection under § 71-51,102 extends the same shield to the good-faith use of an automated external defibrillator by a lay rescuer.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Nebraska imposes no legal duty to rescue: stopping to help is a matter of conscience, not of law. Yet the moment you choose to act in good faith, the law stands firmly behind you and shields you from ordinary civil suits. The decision is entirely yours — and nothing, including the use of an AED, should hold you back.

Why training matters

Across Nebraska's plains, help can take long minutes to travel rural roads — and it is in exactly those minutes that a life hangs in the balance. CPR and first-aid training teaches you to recognize cardiac arrest, to compress effectively, and to use an AED with confidence rather than freezing at the critical moment. The law already protects you; all that's missing is the skill to turn goodwill into life-saving action. Get trained, and become the person your community can count on.