CHAPTERED BILL TEXT
CHAPTER JULY 23,
1999
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 23, 1999
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
JULY 22, 1999
PASSED THE SENATE
JULY 12, 1999
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY
JULY 6, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY
JUNE 15, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE
APRIL 27, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE
APRIL 8, 1999
INTRODUCED BY
Senator Figueroa
(Principal coauthor:
Assembly Member Oller)
(Coauthors:
Senators Alarcon, Morrow, Peace, Perata, Rainey, Schiff, Sher, and
Solis)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baugh, Cardoza, Davis,
Havice, Maddox, Romero, Torlakson, Washington, Wildman, and Zettel)
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
An act to add Section 1714.21 to
the Civil Code, and to add Section 1797.196 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to emergency
care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 911, Figueroa. Emergency
care: automatic external
defibrillator: acquisition and liability.
Existing law provides immunity from civil liability to any
person
who, in good faith and without compensation or the
expectation of
compensation, renders emergency care at the scene of an
emergency.
Existing law expressly provides
immunity from civil liability to any
person who completes a designated cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR)
course and who, in good faith, renders emergency
cardiopulmonary
resuscitation at the scene of an emergency, without the
expectation
of receiving compensation for providing the emergency
care.
This bill would provide immunity from civil liability to (1) any
person who, in good faith and not for compensation renders
emergency
care or treatment by the use of an automated external
defibrillator
at the scene of an emergency, has completed a basic CPR
and automated
external defibrillator (AED) use course that complies with
regulations adopted by the Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) Authority
and the standards of the American Heart Association or the
American
Red Cross for CPR and AED use,
(2) a person or entity who provides
CPR and AED training to a person
who renders emergency care pursuant
to (1), and (3) a physician who is involved with the
placement of an
AED and any person or entity
responsible for the site where an AED is
located if that physician, medical authority, person, or
entity has
complied with certain requirements. The bill would provide that its
protections shall not apply in the case of personal injury
or
wrongful death that results from the gross negligence or
willful or
wanton misconduct of the person who renders emergency care
or
treatment by the use of an AED.
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the
Prehospital Emergency Medical
Care Personnel Act, authorizes the
Emergency Services Authority to
establish minimum standards for the
training and use of automatic external defibrillators by
individuals
not otherwise licensed or certified for the use of the
device.
This bill would require any person who acquires an automatic
external defibrillator to comply with specified
requirements in the
bill.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the
intent of the Legislature that an automated
external defibrillator may be used for the purpose of
saving the life
of another person in cardiac arrest when used in
accordance with
Section 1714.21 of the Civil
Code.
SEC. 2. Section 1714.21 is added to the Civil Code,
to read:
1714.21. (a) For purposes of this section, the
following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "AED"
or "defibrillator" means an automated or automatic
external defibrillator.
(2)
"CPR" means cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
(b) A person who
has completed a basic CPR and AED use course that
complies with regulations adopted by the Emergency Medical
Services
(EMS) Authority and the standards of the American Heart
Association
or the American Red Cross for CPR and AED use, and who, in
good faith
and not for compensation, renders emergency care or
treatment by the
use of an AED at the scene of an emergency shall not be
liable for
any civil damages resulting from any acts or omissions in
rendering
the emergency care.
(c) A person or
entity who provides CPR and AED training to a
person who renders emergency care pursuant to subdivision
(b) shall
not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any
acts or
omissions of the person rendering the emergency care.
(d) A physician
who is involved with the placement of an AED and
any person or entity responsible for the site where an AED
is located
shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from
any acts or
omissions of a person who renders emergency care pursuant
to
subdivision (b) if that physician, person, or entity has
complied
with all requirements of Section 1797.196 of the Health
and Safety
Code that apply to that
physician, person, or entity.
(e) The
protections specified in this section shall not apply in
the case of personal injury or wrongful death that results
from the
gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of the
person who
renders emergency care or treatment by the use of an AED.
(f) Nothing in
this section shall relieve a manufacturer,
designer, developer, distributor, installer, or supplier
of an AED or
defibrillator of any liability under any applicable
statute or rule
of law.
SEC. 3. Section 1797.196
is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
1797.196. (a) For purposes of this section,
"AED" or
"defibrillator" means an automated or automatic
external
defibrillator.
(b) In order to
ensure public safety, any person who acquires an
AED shall do all of the following:
(1) Comply with
all regulations governing the training, use, and
placement of an AED.
(2) Notify an
agent of the local EMS agency of the existence,
location, and type of AED acquired.
(3) Ensure all
of the following:
(A) That
expected AED users complete a training course in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED use that complies
with
regulations adopted by the Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) Authority
and the standards of the American Heart Association or the
American
Red Cross.
(B) That the
defibrillator is maintained and regularly tested
according to the operation and maintenance guidelines set
forth by
the manufacturer, the American Heart Association, and the
American
Red Cross, and according to any
applicable rules and regulations set
forth by the governmental authority under the federal Food
and Drug
Administration and any other
applicable state and federal authority.
(C) That the AED
is checked for readiness after each use and at
least once every 30 days if the AED has not been used in
the
preceding 30 days.
Records of these periodic checks shall be
maintained.
(D) That any
person who renders emergency care or treatment on a
person in cardiac arrest by using an AED activates the
emergency
medical services system as soon as possible, and reports
any use of
the AED to the licensed physician and to the local EMS
agency.
(E) That there
is involvement of a licensed physician in
developing a program to ensure compliance with regulations
and
requirements for training, notification, and maintenance.
(c) A violation
of this provision shall not be subject to
penalties pursuant to Section 1798.206.