Any person, including a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine, who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or treatment to an injured animal at the scene of an emergency or accident shall not be liable for any injuries to such animals resulting from the rendering of such care or treatment.
§ 8.01-225.2.Immunity for those rendering emergency care to animals.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-225.2 protects anyone, including a licensed veterinarian, who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or treatment to an injured animal at the scene of an accident or emergency, from liability for injuries the animal suffers as a result of that care.
Full Text of § 8.01-225.2
Plain-English Summary
This section extends Good Samaritan-style protection beyond human patients to injured animals. Anyone, including someone licensed to practice veterinary medicine, who renders emergency care or treatment to an injured animal at the scene of an accident or emergency, in good faith and without compensation, is immune from liability for injuries the animal suffers from that care or treatment.
The protection is limited to the scene-of-the-emergency context and to uncompensated, good-faith responders; it does not extend a blanket shield to veterinary practice generally, only to the specific act of stepping in to help an injured animal at the moment of an accident or emergency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone be sued for trying to help an injured animal after a car accident?
Not if they acted in good faith and without compensation. Section 8.01-225.2 immunizes anyone, including a licensed veterinarian, from liability for injuries the animal suffers from that emergency care.
Does this immunity require the person to be a veterinarian?
No. It covers “any person,” explicitly including but not limited to someone licensed to practice veterinary medicine.
Does this section protect a veterinarian’s ordinary paid practice?
No. The immunity is limited to good-faith, uncompensated emergency care given at the scene of an accident or emergency, not compensated veterinary treatment generally.
What kind of harm does this section protect against?
Liability for injuries to the animal that result from the emergency care or treatment rendered.
Is there a gross-negligence exception, as in the human Good Samaritan statute?
The text of this section does not spell out a separate gross-negligence carve-out the way § 8.01-225 does for several of its categories; it conditions immunity on the care being rendered in good faith and without compensation.
Amendment History
1998, c. 669.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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