About Legal Liability

 

[NOTE: I AM NOT A LAWER - IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNCIL. ALSO, THIS ONLY APPLIES TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.]

A question that naturally arises is, "what is my liability if I donate food to someone, and for whatever reason, it makes them ill?"

Fortunately, this question was well addressed by Congress in 1996 through the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (Public law 104-210.) The act was designed to "encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals by giving the Model Good Samaritan Food Donation Act the full force and effect of law."

My understanding of the act (and again, I am not a lawyer,) is that it protects individuals who donate food from any and all civil and criminal liability as long as there was not gross negligence or actual criminal intent. If an individual makes a good faith effort to donate what they believe to be safe, healthy food, then they cannot be held at fault if someone consumes that food and is sickened by it for any reason.

The full text of the act can be found at www.usda.gov/news/pubs/gleaning/appc.htm. You can download it here in Adobe PDF form as well.

Caveat: in my reading of the act, individuals are protected from liability. However, it does not appear that the law protects donors from being sued. Based upon the act a suit brought against a food donor who was not negligent would lose in court, but, it does not prohibit a plaintiff from bringing suit, even though such a suit would in effect be frivolous. Sadly, we live in a society where lawsuits are brought for a variety of reasons - not always good, honest, or just reasons. Obviously such a lawsuit would be unpleasant, time consuming, and potentially expensive, even if in the end the donor/defendant would prevail.