No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Indeed, this was the first thing that popped into my head as I read the headline of this story. Lisa Torti had good intentions of trying to rescue her possibly inebriated friend that left the same party at 1:30 A.M. and may have been inebriated herself. Evidently, Torti saw the accident happen and thought the car may explode and in thinking such, decided to try to pull her alleged friend from the car as to not watch her go up in smoke. In doing so, she treated her friend like a "rag doll" and pulled her from the wreckage carelessly. Alexandra Van Horn(rag doll and victim in question) became a paraplegic from Torti's actions. So, to prove that no good deed goes unpunished, Van Horn is now suing Torti for putting her in this condition despite her efforts and good intentions. A supreme Court ruling found in favor of Van Horn that Torti should have used "due care" when in a high stress and volatile situation.

So, what have we learned by this situation? Funny thing is, I see both sides on the issue. But, to anyone who is not a stranger to this story, they may think twice before coming to someone's rescue for fear they may be sued if they do not rescue the person "properly". Can you imagine someone asking someone at a terrible accident asking if they'll be sued if rescue them?

Scenario:

"Dude, that's a pretty fucked up position you're in, do you want me to rescue you? Yes? Well, I need you to repeat that to these witnesses that are just now coming over here...Hey, are any of you a notary?!?! I think I better get this in writing before I do anything or I may just leave your ass hanging, no pun intended and no offense."