Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Panama

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act The Penal Code in force (Single Text, Law 14 of 2007 and its reforms) does not create a general "failure to render aid" offence toward strangers. The nearest provision is art. 148 (chap. III "Abandono de niños y otras personas incapaces de velar por su seguridad o su salud"), which punishes abandonment of a child under twelve or an incapable person "bajo su guarda y cuidado" (under one's guard and care). Art. 356 punishes a public official who refuses legally-required assistance.
Scope of protection No general bystander duty to rescue a stranger. Criminal liability by omission arises only in a guarantor relationship: abandonment by a guardian of a child under 12 or an incapable person in their care (art. 148, 1 to 12 years' prison depending on gravity), and a public official's refusal of legally-required assistance (art. 356).
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

In Panama, the Penal Code in force (Single Text of Law 14 of 2007) creates no general failure-to-rescue offence toward strangers; criminal liability by omission arises only from a position of guarantor, such as abandoning a minor or incapable person in one's own care (art. 148) or a public official's refusal of assistance (art. 356). A private person who helps a stranger in good faith risks no penalty for doing so.

No duty to act, but every reason to

This means that, outside those guarantor cases, Panamanian law does not compel a bystander to step in: rescuing is a personal choice, not a command. Whoever decides to help does so of their own will, with no criminal threat hanging over them for the outcome; the law leaves the act to each Panamanian's conscience.

Why training matters

And where the law is silent, it is the prepared person who makes the difference. In a cardiac arrest, survival falls with every minute without compressions; no rule can replace the person who, right there, knows what to do. Training in CPR and first aid turns the freedom to help into the real ability to save, making every trained Panamanian a vital resource for their family, their workplace and their community.