The Indiana Good Samaritan Law, codified at Indiana Code 34-30-12-1, protects you from civil lawsuits if you provide free emergency care in good faith to someone who is hurt or in danger. The protection is broad but not unlimited: it drops away if your conduct rises to gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, and it does not shield you from criminal liability. Separate Indiana statutes extend similar protections to people who use an AED, administer naloxone during an overdose, or break into a vehicle to rescue an animal.
What the Law Actually Shields You From
The core protection lives in subsection (b) of IC 34-30-12-1. It grants civil immunity to any person who comes upon, is summoned to, or is at the scene of an emergency or accident and, in good faith, provides emergency care for free. That immunity covers both the aid you give directly and any decision you make about arranging further medical treatment for the injured person.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-12-1 – Gratuitously Rendered Emergency Care; Immunity
In practical terms: if you stop at a highway crash, perform CPR on a stranger who collapses in a store, or drag an injured person clear of a burning car, you cannot be sued for money damages over unintended harm caused by your help. The legislature wrote it broadly on purpose. Emergency scenes are chaotic, and the fear of being sued is exactly the kind of thing that keeps bystanders standing by.
One important boundary: the statute grants immunity from civil liability only. It says nothing about criminal charges.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-12-1 – Gratuitously Rendered Emergency Care; Immunity Criminal prosecution of a sincere rescuer is rare, but the law does not by its terms provide a criminal defense.
Who Is Covered
Anyone. The statute has no training requirement and no credential check. A registered nurse, a truck driver, a teenager, and a retiree all get the same protection at a roadside emergency, so long as the aid is free and offered in good faith.
The one group carved out is healthcare providers treating patients inside a healthcare facility. Subsection (a) says the immunity does not apply to services a healthcare provider renders to a patient in a healthcare facility.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-12-1 – Gratuitously Rendered Emergency Care; Immunity A doctor working in a hospital is governed by medical malpractice standards and cannot invoke a law meant for roadside rescuers. The exclusion is tied to the setting, not the profession. That same doctor stopping at a highway crash and helping for free is protected like any other bystander.
Good Faith and No Payment
Two conditions run through the whole statute. Your help has to be given in good faith, and it has to be free.
Good faith is not separately defined in this chapter. At a working level, it means you genuinely believe the person needs help, you are trying to improve their situation, and you are not acting out of malice or self-interest.
The no-payment rule is more concrete. If you accept or expect payment for the emergency care you provide, the interaction becomes a paid service governed by ordinary negligence rules, not Good Samaritan immunity. It is the line between a stranger performing CPR and a private ambulance service billing for a response.
Where the Protection Ends
Immunity stops at gross negligence and willful or wanton misconduct.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-12-1 – Gratuitously Rendered Emergency Care; Immunity Ordinary mistakes stay well within the law’s protection. Splinting an arm wrong, cracking a rib during chest compressions, choosing to move someone when staying put might have been better: those are the kinds of judgment calls the statute was written to cover.
Gross negligence under Indiana law generally means conduct that goes beyond simple carelessness and reflects a reckless disregard for the safety of others. It is the difference between an honest error under pressure and something so obviously dangerous no reasonable person would have done it. Willful or wanton misconduct is a step beyond that: acting when you know your conduct is likely to cause harm and proceeding anyway. The threshold to lose immunity is high, which is the point.
Do You Have to Stop and Help?
No. Indiana does not impose a general legal duty on bystanders to help someone in distress. You can drive past an accident scene without stopping and face no legal consequence. The Good Samaritan Law removes a barrier for people who choose to help; it does not force the choice.
One narrow exception is worth knowing. Under IC 9-26-1-1.5, if you are a passenger in a vehicle involved in an accident and the driver is physically unable to help, you are legally required to determine whether anyone needs assistance and to provide reasonable aid. Failing to do so is a Class C misdemeanor. The duty applies only to vehicle occupants who are at least 18 (or at least 15 with a learner’s permit or license) and physically capable of helping.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.5 – Duties of Passenger of Vehicle
Using an AED
Subsection (c) of the Good Samaritan Law says a person who uses an automated external defibrillator to provide free emergency care is immune from liability for any act or omission that does not amount to gross negligence or willful misconduct, provided the person meets the requirements of IC 16-31-6.5.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-12-1 – Gratuitously Rendered Emergency Care; Immunity Separately, IC 16-31-6-2 provides immunity for certified emergency medical responders who use a defibrillator following their training protocols.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-31-6-2 – Use of Defibrillators
Giving Naloxone During an Overdose
Indiana’s overdose intervention statute, commonly called Aaron’s Law (IC 16-42-27), goes further than the general Good Samaritan Law because it provides both civil and criminal protection.
Under IC 16-42-27-2, a person who obtains naloxone through a prescriber or standing order and administers it to someone having an apparent opioid overdose cannot be treated as practicing medicine without a license, so long as the person acts in good faith and attempts to call emergency services either immediately before or after administering the drug.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 16 Health 16-42-27-2
The Indiana Department of Health describes broader protections under the same framework: immunity from civil suit by the overdose victim, and protection from criminal charges related to drug possession, including cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, paraphernalia, synthetic drugs, and other controlled substances. To qualify, you must:
- Administer naloxone to the person overdosing
- Call 911 or otherwise contact emergency services
- Stay at the scene until EMS and police arrive
- Cooperate with law enforcement and provide requested information
The protection has real limits. Aaron’s Law does not cover parole or probation violations, public intoxication, trespassing, or other non-drug offenses committed at the scene. It does not protect the person who suffered the overdose, and it does not cover anyone who gives naloxone but fails to call emergency services.5Indiana Department of Health. Aaron’s Law and Overdose Good Samaritan Law Overview
Breaking a Car Window to Save an Animal
IC 34-30-30-3 covers the specific situation of forcibly entering a locked vehicle to rescue a domestic animal. A person who does so is immune from criminal and civil liability for the property damage, with one catch: the rescuer is responsible for half the cost of repairing the damage, unless the vehicle’s owner waives that liability.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-30-3 – Entering Motor Vehicle to Remove Domestic Animal
The immunity applies only if you follow every one of these steps:
- Reasonably believe the animal is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm
- Confirm the vehicle is locked and forced entry is the only option
- Call 911 or contact law enforcement, a firefighter, or an animal control officer before breaking in
- Use no more force than necessary to enter and remove the animal
- Remain with the animal until an emergency responder or animal control officer arrives
Emergency responders, on- or off-duty law enforcement officers, firefighters, animal control officers, and licensed veterinarians acting in their professional capacity are exempt from the half-cost repair liability entirely.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-30-30-3 – Entering Motor Vehicle to Remove Domestic Animal