Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Ecuador

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 No general failure-to-rescue offence in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP, 2014). Art. 134 punishes only the "omission of relief and humanitarian-assistance measures" in armed conflict (5 to 7 years), and Art. 276 the "failure to report" by certain professionals (2 to 6 years). Liability for inaction stems from a position of guarantor (commission by omission).
Scope of protection No general bystander obligation. Art. 134 targets persons obligated during armed conflict; Art. 276 targets named professionals (education, health, recreation, etc.). Otherwise only a position of guarantor creates liability.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

In Ecuador, the 2014 Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code creates no general failure-to-rescue offence: it punishes only the omission of humanitarian measures during armed conflict (art. 134) and certain professionals' failure to report (art. 276). Someone who helps a stranger in good faith incurs no criminal liability for doing so, since such liability arises only from a position of guarantor, not from the simple act of helping.

No duty to act, but every reason to

Outside those cases, the law does not compel a bystander to step in: rescuing is, in Ecuador, a matter of conscience rather than a legal command. That freedom does not dilute the urgency; it places it entirely on whoever is present, because no one else will answer for the life fading in those first minutes.

Why training matters

When a heart stops, the window to act is measured in minutes — long before an ambulance arrives. Knowing how to recognize cardiac arrest, compress the chest and use an AED turns an ordinary Ecuadorian into the first link in the chain of survival. Training in CPR and first aid is no formality: it is what separates watching from saving, and that capability is learned, practised and kept sharp.