Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Uruguay

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 Penal Code (Law 9.155 of 1934), art. 332 "Omisión de asistencia" (failure to assist): "La misma pena se aplicará al que, por negligencia, dejare de prestar asistencia, dando cuenta a la autoridad, a un hombre desvanecido o herido, sepultado o en situación en que corra peligro su vida o su integridad física." — The same penalty applies to anyone who, through negligence, fails to render assistance to, and to notify the authorities of, a person who is unconscious or injured, buried, or in a situation endangering their life or physical integrity.
Scope of protection Duty to render assistance and notify the authorities toward: (1) an abandoned or lost child under ten, or a person unable to fend for themselves through mental/physical illness or old age; and (2) a person who is unconscious, injured, buried, or whose life or physical integrity is in danger. The second case is framed on a negligence basis.
Duty to rescue Yes
Penalty for failure to assist "Penalty of abandonment reduced by one-third to one-half" — the abandonment penalty (art. 330, 3 to 24 months' prison) reduced by one-third to one-half (art. 332).
AED liability protection No
Legal duty to rescue applies

Your protection under the law

Uruguay's Penal Code (Law 9.155 of 1934) sets out in its article 332 the offence of failure to assist, punishing anyone who fails to help and to notify the authorities when faced with a person who is unconscious, injured, or whose life or physical integrity is in danger. The rebuke falls on inattention, not on aid: whoever assists in good faith and notifies the authorities does exactly what Uruguayan law expects.

Duty to rescue

In Uruguay, assisting is a legal duty rather than a mere courtesy: the omission is punished with the penalty for abandonment reduced by one-third to one-half, and reaches both the person who finds a helpless child or incapable person and the one who, through negligence, turns away from someone in danger. The law itself allows a minimal path — notifying the authorities — a sign that ignoring an emergency is never a neutral choice.

Why training matters

Notifying the authorities is the floor; sustaining a life is the goal. In a cardiac arrest, the ambulance rarely arrives within the critical window, and it is the hands present that decide. Training in CPR and first aid lets a Uruguayan go beyond the minimum duty and offer real aid — firm compressions, a cleared airway, sustained care until professional help arrives. To prepare is to give the solidarity the law demands the power to save.