Ethics Cases

 

Case # 7
The Quiet Samaritan
Category:
Social ethics

Case:
Walking down the street Jones sees a flowerpot fall out of a window, threatening another pedestrian. Jones could save him simply by shouting a warning but he keeps silent. Under prevailing law in the United States, in cases of this kind, Jones is not liable for failing to warn the pedestrian.

Should the law be changed so as to impose liability upon a bystander such as Jones in the preceding situation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Notes:
Fourth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, APPE, 2/26/98

Author Information:
Author's Name Robert F. Ladenson
Author E-mail ladenson@iit.edu
Author's homepage http://www.iit.edu/departments/humanities/
Author's Institution Department of Philosophy Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and Faculty Associate, Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (IIT)
Institution Web site http://ethics.iit.edu/
Copyright 1998