1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to civil actions; regulating the liability of
1.3 	certain health care providers for providing emergency
1.4 	care and treatment; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
1.5 	section 604A.01, subdivision 2.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 604A.01,
1.8 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subd. 2.General immunity from liability.  (a) A person
1.10 	who, without compensation or the expectation of compensation,
1.11 	renders emergency care, advice, or assistance at the scene of an
1.12 	emergency or during transit to a location where professional
1.13 	medical care can be rendered, is not liable for any civil
1.14 	damages as a result of acts or omissions by that person in
1.15 	rendering the emergency care, advice, or assistance, unless the
1.16 	person acts in a willful and wanton or reckless manner in
1.17 	providing the care, advice, or assistance.  This subdivision
1.18 	does not apply to a person rendering emergency care, advice, or
1.19 	assistance during the course of regular employment, and
1.20 	receiving compensation or expecting to receive compensation for
1.21 	rendering the care, advice, or assistance.
1.22 	(b) Any hospital licensed under chapter 144, any employee
1.23 	of the hospital working in a clinical area within the facility
1.24 	and providing patient care, and any person licensed to practice
1.25 	medicine who in good faith renders medical care and treatment
2.1 	necessitated by a sudden, unexpected situation or occurrence
2.2 	resulting in a serious medical condition demanding immediate
2.3 	medical attention, for which the patient enters the hospital
2.4 	through its emergency room or trauma center, including but not
2.5 	limited to medical care and treatment rendered in an obstetrical
2.6 	unit, or necessitated by a public health emergency declared
2.7 	pursuant to section 12.311, is not held liable for any civil
2.8 	damages as a result of this medical care and treatment unless
2.9 	the damages result from providing, or failing to provide,
2.10 	medical care and treatment under circumstances demonstrating
2.11 	gross negligence for the consequences so as to affect the life
2.12 	or health of another.  The immunity from liability described in
2.13 	this paragraph shall not be construed to include any claim in a
2.14 	civil action that is based solely on intentional denial of
2.15 	medical treatment that a patient is otherwise qualified to
2.16 	receive, against the wishes of a patient, or, if the patient is
2.17 	incompetent, against the wishes of the patient's guardian, on
2.18 	the basis of the patient's present or predicted age, disability,
2.19 	degree of medical dependency, or quality of life.
2.20 	(b) (c) For the purposes of this section, the scene of an
2.21 	emergency is an area outside the confines of a hospital or other
2.22 	institution that has hospital facilities, or an office of a
2.23 	person licensed to practice one or more of the healing arts
2.24 	under chapter 147, 147A, 148, 150A, or 153.  The scene of an
2.25 	emergency includes areas threatened by or exposed to spillage,
2.26 	seepage, fire, explosion, or other release of hazardous
2.27 	materials, and includes ski areas and trails.
2.28 	(c) (d) For the purposes of this section, "person" includes
2.29 	a public or private nonprofit volunteer firefighter, volunteer
2.30 	police officer, volunteer ambulance attendant, volunteer first
2.31 	provider of emergency medical services, volunteer ski patroller,
2.32 	and any partnership, corporation, association, or other entity.
2.33 	(d) (e) For the purposes of this section, "compensation"
2.34 	does not include payments, reimbursement for expenses, or
2.35 	pension benefits paid to members of volunteer organizations.
2.36 	(e) (f) For purposes of this section, "emergency care"
3.1 	includes providing emergency medical care by using or providing
3.2 	an automatic external defibrillator, unless the person on whom
3.3 	the device is to be used objects; or unless the person is
3.4 	rendering this care during the course of regular employment, the
3.5 	person is receiving or expects to receive compensation for
3.6 	rendering this care, and the usual and regular duties of the
3.7 	person include the provision of emergency medical care.
3.8 	"Automatic external defibrillator" means a medical device heart
3.9 	monitor and defibrillator that:
3.10 	(1) has received approval of its premarket notification,
3.11 	filed pursuant to United States Code, title 21, section 360(k),
3.12 	from the United States Food and Drug Administration;
3.13 	(2) is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of
3.14 	ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia, and
3.15 	is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator,
3.16 	whether defibrillation should be performed; and
3.17 	(3) upon determining that defibrillation should be
3.18 	performed, automatically charges and requests delivery of an
3.19 	electrical impulse to an individual's heart.
3.20 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
3.21 	following final enactment and applies to actions arising from
3.22 	incidents occurring on or after that date.