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(The information on this site applies to
Florida only)
768.13 Good Samaritan Act; immunity from civil
liability.--
(1) This act shall be known and cited as the "Good Samaritan
Act."
(2)(a) Any person, including those licensed to practice
medicine, who gratuitously and in good faith renders
emergency care or treatment either in direct response to
emergency situations related to and arising out of a public
health emergency declared pursuant to s. 381.00315, a state
of emergency which has been declared pursuant to s. 252.36
or at the scene of an emergency outside of a hospital,
doctor's office, or other place having proper medical
equipment, without objection of the injured victim or
victims thereof, shall not be held liable for any civil
damages as a result of such care or treatment or as a result
of any act or failure to act in providing or arranging
further medical treatment where the person acts as an
ordinary reasonably prudent person would have acted under
the same or similar circumstances.
(b)1. Any health care provider, including a hospital
licensed under chapter 395, providing emergency services
pursuant to obligations imposed by 42 U.S.C. s. 1395dd, s.
395.1041, s. 395.401, or s. 401.45 shall not be held liable
for any civil damages as a result of such medical care or
treatment unless such damages result from providing, or
failing to provide, medical care or treatment under
circumstances demonstrating a reckless disregard for the
consequences so as to affect the life or health of another.
2. The immunity provided by this paragraph applies to
damages as a result of any act or omission of providing
medical care or treatment, including diagnosis:
a. Which occurs prior to the time the patient is stabilized
and is capable of receiving medical treatment as a
nonemergency patient, unless surgery is required as a result
of the emergency within a reasonable time after the patient
is stabilized, in which case the immunity provided by this
paragraph applies to any act or omission of providing
medical care or treatment which occurs prior to the
stabilization of the patient following the surgery.
b. Which is related to the original medical emergency.
3. For purposes of this paragraph, "reckless disregard" as
it applies to a given health care provider rendering
emergency medical services shall be such conduct that a
health care provider knew or should have known, at the time
such services were rendered, created an unreasonable risk of
injury so as to affect the life or health of another, and
such risk was substantially greater than that which is
necessary to make the conduct negligent.
4. Every emergency care facility granted immunity under this
paragraph shall accept and treat all emergency care patients
within the operational capacity of such facility without
regard to ability to pay, including patients transferred
from another emergency care facility or other health care
provider pursuant to Pub. L. No. 99-272, s. 9121. The
failure of an emergency care facility to comply with this
subparagraph constitutes grounds for the department to
initiate disciplinary action against the facility pursuant
to chapter 395.
(c)1. Any health care practitioner as defined in s.
456.001(4) who is in a hospital attending to a patient of
his or her practice or for business or personal reasons
unrelated to direct patient care, and who voluntarily
responds to provide care or treatment to a patient with whom
at that time the practitioner does not have a then-existing
health care patient-practitioner relationship, and when such
care or treatment is necessitated by a sudden or unexpected
situation or by an occurrence that demands immediate medical
attention, shall not be held liable for any civil damages as
a result of any act or omission relative to that care or
treatment, unless that care or treatment is proven to amount
to conduct that is willful and wanton and would likely
result in injury so as to affect the life or health of
another.
2. The immunity provided by this paragraph does not apply to
damages as a result of any act or omission of providing
medical care or treatment unrelated to the original
situation that demanded immediate medical attention.
3. For purposes of this paragraph, the Legislature's intent
is to encourage health care practitioners to provide
necessary emergency care to all persons without fear of
litigation as described in this paragraph.
(d) Any person whose acts or omissions are not otherwise
covered by this section and who participates in emergency
response activities under the direction of or in connection
with a community emergency response team, local emergency
management agencies, the Division of Emergency Management of
the Department of Community Affairs, or the Federal
Emergency Management Agency is not liable for any civil
damages as a result of care, treatment, or services provided
gratuitously in such capacity and resulting from any act or
failure to act in such capacity in providing or arranging
further care, treatment, or services, if such person acts as
a reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same
or similar circumstances.
(3) Any person, including those licensed to practice
veterinary medicine, who gratuitously and in good faith
renders emergency care or treatment to an injured animal at
the scene of an emergency on or adjacent to a roadway shall
not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of such
care or treatment or as a result of any act or failure to
act in providing or arranging further medical treatment
where the person acts as an ordinary reasonably prudent
person would have acted under the same or similar
circumstances.
Thanks and Good Diving
Todd |
