On September 16th, 1984 John Kearney was involved in a life-threatening accident in rural Alaska. Dr. Deal was the surgeon on call that day and normally would have had the patient flown to a trauma hospital in Anchorage Alaska. But, because of the serious nature of Mr. Kearney's injuries, Dr. Deal did not think that Mr. Kearney would survive the trip. Dr. Deal took Mr. Kearney to the OR and performed surgery for 10 hours.

At 12:00 Noon, on September 17th, 1984, Dr. Deal determined that Mr. Kearney was stable enough to survive the trip to Anchorage and wrote an order that he be sent by helicopter to the Trauma Center in Anchorage, Alaska. However, for some reason Mr. Kearney wasn't transferred until 5:00 PM that day. When he arrived in Anchorage, Mr. Kearney was in critical condition and had to undergo additional surgeries, one of which was amputation of his right leg at the hip.

Mr. Kearney sued Dr. Deal and the hospital for negligence by not transferring the patient sooner, among other things. Mr. Kearney argued that the delay in transferring him was in part responsible for the loss of his leg.

ISSUE: Dr. Deal utilized the Emergency Defense based on the seriousness of the injury and because the rural hospital wasn't equipped to handle such extensive injuries. Because of the seriousness of the injuries, combined with the lack of equipment, what treatments they were able to handle constituted an emergency situation, and therefore the defense applies.

RULE: The court held that "... the immunity provided by the Good Samaritan statute is unavailable to physicians with a pre-existing duty to respond to emergency situations."

EMPHASIS: This case demonstrates when the Emergency Defense (Good Samaritan Law) applies and when it doesn't. If you think about it, if the Emergency Defense was allowed for any emergency situations, Emergency Room staff could commit heinous acts of malpractice and not be sued because the situation was an emergency.

1. It was possible that Mr Kearney would have lost his leg regardless of when he was transferred. Do you think possibility should be considered when raising the Emergency Defense? Explain why.

2. Suppose a person is involved in a house fire and has severe burns over their entire body. The local hospital doesn't have a burn unit, so the patient has to make a 30 minute trip to a hospital that does. Should the local hospital be responsible for not having the facilities to treat a burn? Explain why.

2. Most contracts today include a clause that the parties agree to binding arbitration in lieu of filing a lawsuit. Because a contract is a legal document, the courts uphold the clauses. Is that fair? Explain the answer.
4. Almost all contracts include a mandatory binding arbitration clause. For example, when buying a car, your contract will include a binding arbitration clause. While you can decline the binding arbitration, the dealership doesn't have to sell you the car. Is that fair? Explain the answer.