This means that rescue personnel such as police, fire fighters or emergency medical technicians can ask someone else to help extricate someone from a hole, and the person helping will not be liable. It does not mean that a mining company is automatically exempt from liability if they have a mining accident, but when assisting others, gross negligence or willful misconduct must be present for them to be sued.
Finally, in Section D, the law specifically states that protection from this law does not include any liability from the operation of a motor vehicle. It also defines very clearly what the law means by "compensation." Since police and firefighters are salaried, they are "compensated" for their work, including for work they perform during an emergency. In this law, it also does not mean gifts of services. Examples given are...
It also exempts those who train people to render emergency aid, such as CPR or the use of a defibrillator. Finally, it protects people who hold medical licenses in other states if they render aid to someone in Virginia.
In summary, the law protects anyone renders emergency medical or other life-saving or life-extending aid if they had reason to believe they were competent to do so, including people such as bystanders who have CPR training as well as those who hold some kind medical license. Such a person has to act in a grossly negligent or willfully incompetent way in order to be sued for their efforts to help.
Source: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Good+Samaritan+law%22+Virginia
