PRINTER'S NO. 2412
No. 1849 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY MARKOSEK, LIVENGOOD, PISTELLA, PRESSMANN,
J. L. WRIGHT, RAYMOND, NAHILL, BLAUM, DEAL, CHADWICK,
FISCHER, HERMAN, J. TAYLOR, SEMMEL, VEON, STABACK, TRUMAN AND
FOX, OCTOBER 29, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, OCTOBER 29, 1985
AN ACT
1 Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and
2 Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
3 Statutes, providing for an offense relating to the failure to
4 render assistance in certain circumstances.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
8 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
9 § 5516. Failure to render reasonable assistance.
10 (a) Offense.--A person who knows that another person is in
11 imminent danger of or has sustained serious physical harm and
12 who fails to render reasonable assistance commits a summary
13 offense.
14 (b) Scope of reasonable assistance.--Reasonable assistance
15 may include rendering or attempting to render any of the
16 following types of assistance; direct personal assistance,
17 summoning law enforcement or medical personnel or other
18 qualified persons, giving a warning of imminent danger to the
1 person so affected or other appropriate assistance.
2 (c) Defense.--It is a defense to an action instituted under
3 subsection (a) that rendering reasonable assistance would have
4 posed a substantial risk of serious physical harm to the
5 defendant or a third party or that reasonable assistance was
6 being provided by others.
7 (d) Applicability.--Nothing contained in this section shall
8 alter existing law with respect to liability for any other
9 crime.
10 Section 2. Title 42 is amended by adding a section to read:
11 § 8338. Civil immunity for failure to render assistance.
12 Unless otherwise liable for civil damages under the law, a
13 person who fails to render the reasonable assistance required
14 under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5516 (relating to failure to render
15 reasonable assistance) shall not be liable for any civil damages
16 that occur as a result of the violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5516.
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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