{"id":368937,"date":"2022-01-13T14:52:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T19:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/litigation\/filing-a-lawsuit\/can-i-sue-someone-for-not-calling-911.html"},"modified":"2024-01-09T10:35:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T15:35:15","slug":"can-i-sue-someone-for-not-calling-911","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/litigation\/filing-a-lawsuit\/can-i-sue-someone-for-not-calling-911.html","title":{"rendered":"Can I Sue Someone for Not Calling 911?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Can I Sue Someone for Not Calling 911?<\/h1>\n
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\n By Steven Ellison, Esq.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Joseph Fawbush, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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Yes, in some situations you may be able to sue someone in civil court for failing to call 911. This applies when that person had a duty to call for emergency help.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

Although you owe no legal obligation to a stranger to give them help when they are in peril, there are situations when you assume the duty, a statute (law) imposes the duty, or you have a special relationship with that person that creates that duty, such as for a family member.<\/p>\n

If you do help someone in need, most states have Good Samaritan laws that protect you from civil cases if something goes wrong. In other words, the law doesn’t force you to help someone, but if you do, you should be protected from liability. For example, if someone at the table next to you is choking, you do not have to help. If you do and break the ribs of the person choking when doing the Heimlich Maneuver, you won’t be on the hook for their medical bills.<\/p>\n

Failing to Help<\/h2>\n

If you are injured and believe someone should have called for medical assistance but didn’t, there are limited circumstances in which you may be able to bring a personal injury case against them. To better understand your rights, you may want to seek legal advice from a skilled personal injury lawyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Must Spider-Man at Least Call the Police?<\/h2>\n

Imagine you are Peter Parker, a mild-mannered, largely unnoticed high school student. On a field trip to a science facility, you are bitten by a radioactive spider. Surprise! You now have superpowers and have become the Amazing Spider-Man.<\/p>\n

Aunt May sends you to a nearby convenience store to pick up some milk. While there, a robber comes in, points a gun at the cashier, and demands the money in the cash register. You could easily take down the robber but decide not to run the risk of disclosing your secret identity.<\/p>\n

The robber takes plenty of time. Your cell phone is handy, and the police station is just down the street. You could call 911 but choose not to, thinking it’s best not to get involved. After getting the cash, the robber runs out of the store. Before he leaves, he pistol-whips the cashier across the face, cutting their cheek and giving them a bloody nose.<\/p>\n

The cashier staunches the blood as they call the police. A police officer comes, takes statements from you and the cashier, prepares a police report, and leaves.<\/p>\n

You still need to bring home milk, so you go to the store refrigerator, pull out a gallon, and walk up to the register. The cashier is fuming mad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn’t you call the police? I know who you are, Peter Parker \u2014 I’m going to sue you for not calling 911!"<\/p>\n

Does the cashier have a civil lawsuit? Should Spider-Man be worried?<\/p>\n

Negligence<\/h2>\n

If you want to sue someone, you need to have a claim against them. Here the claim would be for what’s called the tort<\/a> of negligence.<\/p>\n

Negligence<\/a> is conduct that falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. Although phrased in different ways, a negligence claim generally requires you to prove four elements:<\/p>\n