<P> If the victim is a minor, consent must come from a parent or guardian . However, if the legal parent or guardian is absent, unconscious, delusional or intoxicated, consent is implied . A responder is not required to withhold life - saving treatment (e.g., CPR or the Heimlich maneuver) from a minor if the parent or guardian will not consent . The parent or guardian is then considered neglecting, and consent for treatment is implied by default because neglect has been committed . Special circumstances may exist if child abuse is suspected (the courts will usually give immunity to those first responders who report what they reasonably consider to be evidence of child abuse or neglect, similar to that given to those who have an actual duty to report such abuse, such as teachers or counsellors). </P> <P> In some jurisdictions, good Samaritan laws only protect those who have completed basic first aid training and are certified by health organizations, such as the American Heart Association, or American Red Cross, provided that they have acted within the scope of their training . In these jurisdictions, a person who is neither trained in first aid nor certified, and who performs first aid incorrectly, can be held legally liable for errors made . In other jurisdictions any rescuer is protected from liability so long as the responder acted rationally . In Florida, paramedics, EMTs, and Emergency Medical Responders (First Responders) are required by law to act under the Duty to Act law, which requires them to stop and give aid that falls within their practice . </P> <P> Good Samaritan laws may be confused with the duty to rescue, as described above . U.S. and Canadian approaches to this issue differ . Under the common law, good Samaritan laws provide a defence against torts arising from the attempted rescue . Such laws do not constitute a duty to rescue, such as exists in some civil law countries, and in the common law under certain circumstances . However, the duty to rescue where it exists may itself imply a shield from liability; for example, under the German law of unterlassene Hilfeleistung (an offense not to provide first aid when necessary), a citizen is obliged to provide first aid when necessary and is immune from prosecution if assistance given in good faith turns out to be harmful . In Canada, all provinces with the exception of Quebec operate on the basis of English Common Law . Quebec operates a civil law system, based in part on the Napoleonic Code, and the principle of duty to rescue does apply . Similarly, in France anyone who fails to render assistance to a person in danger will be found liable before French Courts (civil and criminal liability). The penalty for this offence in criminal courts is imprisonment and a fine (under article 223--6 of the Criminal Code) while in civil courts judges will order payment of pecuniary compensation to the victims . </P> <P> To illustrate a variation in the concept of duty to rescue, in the Canadian province of Ontario, the Occupational Health and Safety Act provides all workers with the right to refuse to perform unsafe work . There are, however, specific exceptions to this right . When the "life, health or safety of another person is at risk," then specific groups, including "police officers, firefighters, or employees of a hospital, clinic or other type of medical worker (including EMS)" are specifically excluded from the right to refuse unsafe work . </P>

Who do the good samaritan laws protect and what do the laws say