HF 1464

3rd Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to civil actions; regulating the liability of
certain health care providers for providing emergency
care and treatment; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
section 604A.01, subdivision 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 604A.01,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

General immunity from liability.

(a) A person
who, without compensation or the expectation of compensation,
renders emergency care, advice, or assistance at the scene of an
emergency or during transit to a location where professional
medical care can be rendered, is not liable for any civil
damages as a result of acts or omissions by that person in
rendering the emergency care, advice, or assistance, unless the
person acts in a willful and wanton or reckless manner in
providing the care, advice, or assistance. This subdivision
does not apply to a person rendering emergency care, advice, or
assistance during the course of regular employment, and
receiving compensation or expecting to receive compensation for
rendering the care, advice, or assistance.

new text begin (b) Any hospital licensed under chapter 144, any employee
of the hospital working in a clinical area within the facility
and providing patient care, and any person licensed to practice
medicine who in good faith renders medical care and treatment
necessitated by a sudden, unexpected situation or occurrence
resulting in a serious medical condition demanding immediate
medical attention, for which the patient enters the hospital
through its emergency room or trauma center, including but not
limited to medical care and treatment rendered in an obstetrical
unit, or necessitated by a public health emergency declared
pursuant to section 12.311, is not held liable for any civil
damages as a result of this medical care and treatment unless
the damages result from providing, or failing to provide,
medical care and treatment under circumstances demonstrating
gross negligence for the consequences so as to affect the life
or health of another. The immunity from liability described in
this paragraph shall not be construed to include any claim in a
civil action that is based solely on intentional denial of
medical treatment that a patient is otherwise qualified to
receive, against the wishes of a patient, or, if the patient is
incompetent, against the wishes of the patient's guardian, on
the basis of the patient's present or predicted age, disability,
degree of medical dependency, or quality of life.
new text end

deleted text begin (b) deleted text end new text begin (c) new text end For the purposes of this section, the scene of an
emergency is an area outside the confines of a hospital or other
institution that has hospital facilities, or an office of a
person licensed to practice one or more of the healing arts
under chapter 147, 147A, 148, 150A, or 153. The scene of an
emergency includes areas threatened by or exposed to spillage,
seepage, fire, explosion, or other release of hazardous
materials, and includes ski areas and trails.

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end For the purposes of this section, "person" includes
a public or private nonprofit volunteer firefighter, volunteer
police officer, volunteer ambulance attendant, volunteer first
provider of emergency medical services, volunteer ski patroller,
and any partnership, corporation, association, or other entity.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end For the purposes of this section, "compensation"
does not include payments, reimbursement for expenses, or
pension benefits paid to members of volunteer organizations.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (f) new text end For purposes of this section, "emergency care"
includes providing emergency medical care by using or providing
an automatic external defibrillator, unless the person on whom
the device is to be used objects; or unless the person is
rendering this care during the course of regular employment, the
person is receiving or expects to receive compensation for
rendering this care, and the usual and regular duties of the
person include the provision of emergency medical care.
"Automatic external defibrillator" means a medical device heart
monitor and defibrillator that:

(1) has received approval of its premarket notification,
filed pursuant to United States Code, title 21, section 360(k),
from the United States Food and Drug Administration;

(2) is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of
ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia, and
is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator,
whether defibrillation should be performed; and

(3) upon determining that defibrillation should be
performed, automatically charges and requests delivery of an
electrical impulse to an individual's heart.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day
following final enactment and applies to actions arising from
incidents occurring on or after that date.
new text end