Wyoming Good Samaritan Law: Who’s Covered and Where It Ends

The Wyoming Good Samaritan law protects people who provide emergency help from civil lawsuits, as long as they act in good faith and are not being paid for the aid. The core statute, Wyoming Code § 1-1-120, applies to everyone from untrained bystanders to off-duty physicians, and Wyoming has separate statutes shielding people who use defibrillators, administer naloxone, or call 911 during a drug overdose.¹

The Two Conditions That Trigger Immunity

Section 1-1-120(a) uses the phrase “any person,” which covers both licensed medical professionals and ordinary bystanders with no training. Two conditions have to be met: you must act in good faith, and you cannot be receiving compensation for the help. If both are satisfied, you are immune from civil damages for the aid you provide at the scene of an emergency. The statute explicitly includes assistance during mental health crises, not only physical injuries.¹

The standard for bystanders is more generous than many people assume. Subsection (a) conditions immunity on good faith but does not include the explicit gross negligence carve-out that appears elsewhere in the same statute. An honest mistake during a chaotic emergency will not strip away your protection, even if the outcome is bad.

Who the Law Covers

Bystanders With No Training

If you stop at a car accident, pull someone from water, start CPR on a stranger, or try to talk down a person in a mental health crisis, you are covered. No medical background is required. The only requirements are good faith and no expectation of payment.¹

Off-Duty Medical Professionals

Doctors, nurses, and other licensed providers get the same protection when they help outside their professional duties and without compensation. An off-duty physician who stops at a highway accident falls under the statute the same way any other bystander does.¹

Compensation is the hinge. A physician who bills for the care, who is already contractually obligated to treat the injured person, or who was present under a paid arrangement (covering a high school football game under contract with the athletic department, for example) may lose Good Samaritan protection. Sending a bill after the fact can also complicate things even if payment was not initially expected.

Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Crews

Wyoming carves out separate protection for volunteer ambulance and rescue organizations and the people who staff them. The statute defines “unpaid volunteers” as those who receive either incidental per-call pay or no more than $1,000 per year for their volunteer ambulance and rescue work. The protection also reaches physicians serving as medical directors, hospitals and employees providing clinical training for Department of Health-approved EMS classes, and students participating in approved EMS or mental health training. Unlike the general bystander immunity, this provision does not cover gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.¹

Hazardous Material Responders

Anyone who helps mitigate or clean up a hazardous material discharge without compensation, beyond reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, is immune from civil liability for good-faith actions. As with the volunteer crew provision, this immunity does not cover gross negligence or willful misconduct.¹

Using an AED

Wyoming has a separate statute for automated external defibrillators. Under § 35-26-103, anyone who uses or attempts to use an AED on someone during a perceived medical emergency is immune from civil liability, unless the harm was caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or conscious indifference to the victim’s safety. The same protection extends to the prescribing physician who authorized the AED purchase and to people who provide CPR and AED training.²

The person or entity responsible for the site where the AED is located is also protected, but only if they comply with § 35-26-102. Those site-owner requirements include obtaining AED and CPR training from a recognized program, refresher training every two years, maintaining and testing the device per manufacturer guidelines, and notifying the local emergency communications center and ambulance service of the device.³ The person who grabs the AED off the wall and uses it, however, is protected regardless of whether the site owner has done all those things.

Calling 911 for an Overdose

Wyoming’s drug overdose Good Samaritan law, § 35-7-1064, addresses a different fear: not civil liability, but criminal prosecution. If you call 911 because you believe someone is overdosing, you are immune from prosecution for possession or use of a controlled substance, provided the offense arose from the same events as the overdose.⁴

The protection is not automatic. You have to:

reasonably believe the person is overdosing,
tell responders where the overdose is happening,
stay at the location until law enforcement or EMS arrives, or remain at the medical facility where the victim is taken, and
share information about what the person took and anything else responders need.

The immunity extends to the overdose victim as well, but with a cap: the victim can only receive this immunity twice in a twelve-month period. After a second qualifying event, the person must complete a drug treatment program approved by the district attorney, at their own expense, to receive immunity for that second incident. The person who called for help faces no such limit.⁴

The immunity only covers possession and use. It does not block prosecution for distribution, manufacturing, or any charge unrelated to drug possession, and law enforcement can use information you provide to investigate those other offenses.⁴

Administering Naloxone

Legislation enacted in 2017 gives personal immunity from both civil and criminal liability to anyone who administers an opioid antagonist like naloxone in accordance with the law. Bystanders, family members, and friends can use naloxone without hesitation, with no medical training required. The protection also covers medical professionals who prescribe or dispense naloxone for emergency use.⁵

Where the Protection Ends

Being Paid for the Help

The core statute requires that aid be rendered “without compensation.” If you expect or receive payment, you fall outside the Good Samaritan framework entirely and are subject to ordinary negligence and malpractice standards.¹ An EMT on a paid shift, a doctor treating a patient under contract, or a nurse staffing a first-aid station is performing a compensated duty, not voluntary Good Samaritan aid.

Gross Negligence or Willful Misconduct

For volunteer ambulance crews, hazmat responders, and AED users, the statutes expressly remove immunity when actions amount to gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.¹ Gross negligence is not a technique done imperfectly under pressure. It means a severe departure from what any reasonable person would do, showing reckless disregard for the person’s safety. For ordinary bystanders under subsection (a), the standard is “good faith,” so actions taken dishonestly or as a pretext for causing harm are not protected.

Refusal From a Conscious Person

If a conscious, competent person tells you they do not want your help and you proceed anyway, your legal footing weakens. This does not apply when the person is unconscious or clearly unable to make decisions, but overriding a clear refusal from someone who understands the situation can create liability the statute may not cover.

No Legal Obligation to Help

Wyoming, like the rest of the United States, generally does not require you to help someone in danger. The Good Samaritan law protects people who choose to intervene; it does not compel anyone to act. There are narrow exceptions, including when you caused the emergency yourself, when a special relationship exists (parent-child, employer-employee, carrier-passenger), and when you begin a rescue and then abandon it in a way that leaves the person worse off than before you started.

Immunity Is Civil, Not Criminal

Good Samaritan protection prevents civil lawsuits for damages. It does not shield you from criminal charges if your conduct crosses from emergency aid into something harmful. Administering a substance without consent, using excessive force under the guise of helping, or intentionally worsening someone’s condition can lead to charges ranging from assault to criminal negligence, and reckless actions during an attempted rescue that cause serious injury or death can support felony charges. An initial intent to help does not insulate conduct that goes well beyond what the situation called for.

1
Justia. Wyoming Code 1-1-120 – Persons Rendering Emergency Assistance Exempt From Civil Liability
2
FindLaw. Wyoming Code 35-26-103 – Limited Liability for Use of Automated External Defibrillator
3
Justia. Wyoming Code 35-26-102 – Possession of Automated External Defibrillator
4
Justia. Wyoming Code 35-7-1064 – Drug Overdose Limited Immunity From Prosecution
5
Government Accountability Office. Drug Misuse: Most States Have Good Samaritan Laws and Research Indicates They May Have Positive Effects