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THE CARDIAC ARREST SURVIVAL ACT: PART TWO

© Kathleen Newton

Here is the second half of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999:

SEC. 4. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.

Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following section:

LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS

SEC. 248. (a) PERSONS USING AEDS- Any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of an automated external defibrillator is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, except as provided in subsection (c).

(b) OTHER PERSONS INVOLVED WITH AEDS; SPECIAL RULES FOR ACQUIRERS- With respect to a personal injury or wrongful death to which subsection (a) applies, in addition to the person who provided emergency medical care through the use of the automated external defibrillator, the following persons are with respect to the device immune from civil liability for the personal injury or wrongful death in accordance with the following, except as provided in subsection (c):

(1) Any person who maintained the device, tested the device, or provided training in the use of the device is immune from such liability.

(2) Any physician who provided medical oversight regarding the device is immune from such liability.

(3) The person who acquired the device (in this paragraph referred to as the `acquirer') is immune from such liability if the following conditions are met:

(A) The condition that the acquirer notified local emergency response personnel of the most recent placement of the device within a reasonable period of time after the device was placed.

(B) The condition that, as of the date on which the emergency occurred, the device had been maintained and tested in accordance with the guidelines established for the device by the manufacturer of the device.

(C) In any case in which the person who provided the emergency medical care through the use of the device was an employee or agent of the acquirer, and the employee or agent was within the class of persons the acquirer expected would use the device in the event of a relevant emergency, the condition that the employee or agent received reasonable instruction in the use of such devices through a course approved by the Secretary or by the chief public health officer of any of the States.

(c) INAPPLICABILITY OF IMMUNITY- Immunity under subsections (a) and (b) does not apply to a person if the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct in the circumstances described in such subsections that apply to the person with respect to automated external defibrillators.

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