Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Mexico

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 Federal Criminal Code, Art. 340 — "omisión de auxilio" (failure to render aid); state penal codes contain equivalent provisions
Scope of protection Art. 340 requires helping or notifying authorities when one finds an abandoned minor, or an injured, disabled or endangered person, if it can be done without personal risk. Mexico has no federal "Good Samaritan" statute providing a specific civil-liability shield for the volunteer rescuer.
Duty to rescue Yes
Penalty for failure to assist 10 to 60 days of community-service work (Art. 340 Federal Criminal Code)
AED liability protection No
Legal duty to rescue applies

Your protection under the law

In Mexico, the law does not treat the good-faith rescuer as a troublemaker but as someone fulfilling a duty. Article 340 of the Federal Criminal Code, echoed by equivalent provisions across the state codes, requires you to help or notify the authorities when you find an injured, disabled or endangered person, provided you can do so without risk to yourself. The country has no federal "Good Samaritan" statute giving the volunteer rescuer a specific civil-liability shield; even so, the spirit of the law is to encourage the person who steps in, not to punish them.

Duty to rescue

In Mexico, helping is not merely a moral option: it is an obligation the law expects of you. Failing to assist a person in danger, when you could have done so without risk, is a punishable omission carrying 10 to 60 days of community-service work. Seen another way, this requirement is an invitation to be ready — the person who knows what to do never has to choose between their duty and their uncertainty.

Why training matters

In a cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation cuts the chances of survival by roughly 10%. In Mexico, where help can take long minutes to arrive, it is the bystander already present — a colleague, a neighbour, a relative — who forms the first link in the chain of survival. Training in CPR and first aid turns a legal obligation into a sure, confident act, the one that can make a heart beat again. The life you save will most likely be that of someone close to you.