What This Bill Does
This bill amends federal law to create national protections that shield people from lawsuits when they use automated external defibrillators (AEDs, or portable machines that restart stopped hearts) in medical emergencies. Currently, state laws provide uneven protections that discourage people and organizations from deploying AEDs. This bill creates uniform nationwide rules so more AEDs can be placed in public spaces.
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Who It Affects
- People who use AEDs during medical emergencies
- Owners and managers of buildings where AEDs are kept
- Organizations that buy or maintain AEDs
- Health care professionals who use AEDs as part of their jobs
- Hospitals, clinics, and health care facilities
- Organizations operating in multiple states
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Key Provisions
- Bystanders who use an AED on someone experiencing a medical emergency are protected from being sued for harm caused by their actions, with limited exceptions. (Sec. 3(a))
- Building owners, occupants, and managers are protected from lawsuits related to AEDs used or taken from their premises, with limited exceptions. (Sec. 3(b))
- AED owners are protected from lawsuits unless they failed to properly maintain the device according to manufacturer guidelines. (Sec. 3(c)(1))
- These protections apply regardless of whether the AED has warning signs, was registered with government, or the user had training. (Sec. 3(d))
- Licensed health professionals and health care entities lose protection from liability when they use AEDs as part of their job. (Sec. 3(e)(2) and (e)(3))
- This federal law overrides state laws that would otherwise allow lawsuits in situations where this bill provides protection. (Sec. 3(f)(1)(B))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, a person who attempts to save someone's life using an AED cannot be sued in most situations. Building owners who allow AEDs on their premises will have legal protection. However, licensed doctors and nurses acting within their professional duties remain liable, and anyone who acts with gross negligence or criminal intent loses protection.
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Important Definitions
- **Perceived medical emergency**: When a reasonable person would believe someone is experiencing a life-threatening heart or breathing condition requiring immediate medical help. (Sec. 3(h)(1))
- **Automated external defibrillator (AED)**: A machine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that can detect abnormal heart rhythms and deliver an electrical shock without the user making decisions about whether to use it. (Sec. 3(h)(2)(A))
- **Cautionary signage**: Warning labels or messages on an AED that tell people they need special training or qualifications to use it. (Sec. 3(h)(2)(B))
- **Owner-acquirer**: Any person who owns or has a property right in an AED. (Sec. 3(c)(2))
- **Harm**: Physical injuries, emotional suffering, lost wages, medical bills, and other losses both economic and non-economic. (Sec. 3(h)(2)(C))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1012
To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability protections
regarding emergency use of automated external defibrillators.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr.
FEENSTRA, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr.
DUNN of Florida, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. CAL-
VERT, and Mr. SANTOS) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability
protections regarding emergency use of automated exter-
nal defibrillators.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cardiac Arrest Sur-
4
vival Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
6
Congress finds the following:
7
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•HR 1012 IH
(1) Establishing a nationally uniform baseline
1
of protection from civil liability for persons who use
2
automated external defibrillators (in this section re-
3
ferred to as ‘‘AEDs’’) in perceived medical emer-
4
gencies, who own or hold other property interests in
5
AEDs used in perceived medical emergencies, or who
6
own, occupy, or manage premises in which an AED
7
is used or from which an AED is taken for use in
8
a perceived medical emergency will encourage the
9
deployment of additional AEDs, which will ulti-
10
mately save lives that would otherwise have been lost
11
to cardiac arrest.
12
(2) The current patchwork of State ‘‘Good Sa-
13
maritan’’ laws provides incomplete, inconsistent,
14
and, in some instances, inadequate protection for en-
15
tities considering the acquisition or deployment of
16
AEDs. In these circumstances, concerns about po-
17
tential liability resulting from the good-faith acquisi-
18
tion and deployment of this life-saving technology
19
are inhibiting its deployment.
20
(3) Such concerns are especially acute for enti-
21
ties with operations or facilities in multiple States,
22
yet such entities are also among those in which the
23
widespread deployment of AEDs would be most ben-
24
eficial.
25
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(4) A nationally uniform baseline of protection
1
from civil liability is needed for persons who use
2
AEDs in perceived medical emergencies, who own or
3
hold other property interests in AEDs used in per-
4
ceived medical emergencies, or who own, occupy, or
5
manage premises in which an AED is used or from
6
which an AED is taken for use in a perceived med-
7
ical emergency.
8
SEC. 3. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTO-
9
MATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.
10
Section 248 of the Public Health Service Act (42
11
U.S.C. 238q) is amended to read as follows:
12
‘‘SEC. 248. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF
13
AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.
14
‘‘(a) GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS.—Except as
15
provided in subsection (e), in the case of a person who—
16
‘‘(1) uses or attempts to use an automated ex-
17
ternal defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived
18
medical emergency, and
19
‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer (as defined in
20
subsection (c)(2)) of the device,
21
such person is immune from civil liability for any harm
22
resulting from the use or attempted use of such device
23
by such person.
24
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‘‘(b) PREMISES OWNER/LESSEE/MANAGER PROTEC-
1
TIONS.—Except as provided in subsection (e), in the case
2
of a person who—
3
‘‘(1) owns, occupies under a lease or similar ar-
4
rangement, or manages—
5
‘‘(A) the premises at which an automated
6
external defibrillator device is used or at-
7
tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived
8
medical emergency, or
9
‘‘(B) the premises from which an auto-
10
mated external defibrillator device used or at-
11
tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived
12
medical emergency is taken for such use, and
13
‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer of such device,
14
such person is immune from civil liability for any harm
15
resulting from such use or attempted use of such device.
16
‘‘(c) DEVICE OWNER-ACQUIRER PROTECTIONS.—
17
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
18
section (e), an owner-acquirer of an AED is immune
19
from civil liability for any harm resulting from the
20
use or attempted use of such device, unless the harm
21
was proximately caused by the failure of the owner-
22
acquirer to properly maintain the device according to
23
the guidelines of the device manufacturer.
24
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‘‘(2) OWNER-ACQUIRER
DEFINED.—For pur-
1
poses of this section, the term ‘owner-acquirer’
2
means any person who owns or has otherwise ac-
3
quired a possessory property interest in an AED
4
that is used or attempted to be used on a victim of
5
a perceived medical emergency.
6
‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY OF IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN CIR-
7
CUMSTANCES.—The immunity provided by subsections
8
(a), (b), and (c) of this section shall apply regardless of
9
whether—
10
‘‘(1) the AED that is used or attempted to be
11
used is marked with or accompanied by cautionary
12
signage;
13
‘‘(2) the AED that is used or attempted to be
14
used is registered with any government;
15
‘‘(3) the person who used or attempted to use
16
the AED saw, read, understood, complied with, or
17
attempted to comply with any cautionary signage
18
present;
19
‘‘(4) the person who used or attempted to use
20
the AED had received any training relating to the
21
use of (a) AEDs in general or (b) the particular
22
AED used or attempted to be used; or
23
‘‘(5) the person who used or attempted to use
24
the AED was assisted or supervised by any other
25
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person, including but not limited to a licensed physi-
1
cian.
2
‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY
OF IMMUNITY
IN CERTAIN
3
CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding anything to the con-
4
trary in subsection (d) of this section, immunity under
5
subsection (a), (b), or (c)(1) does not apply to a person
6
if—
7
‘‘(1) such person’s willful or criminal mis-
8
conduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a
9
conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safe-
10
ty of the victim proximately caused the harm in-
11
volved;
12
‘‘(2) such person is a licensed or certified health
13
professional who used the automated external
14
defibrillator device while acting within the scope of
15
the license or certification of the professional and
16
within the scope of the employment or agency of the
17
professional;
18
‘‘(3) such person is a hospital, clinic, or other
19
entity whose purpose is providing health care di-
20
rectly to patients, and the harm was caused by an
21
employee or agent of the entity who used the device
22
while acting within the scope of the employment or
23
agency of the employee or agent; or
24
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‘‘(4) such person is an owner-acquirer of the
1
device who leased the device to a health care entity
2
(or who otherwise provided the device to such entity
3
for compensation without selling the device to the
4
entity), and the harm was caused by an employee or
5
agent of the entity who used the device while acting
6
within the scope of the employment or agency of the
7
employee or agent.
8
‘‘(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—
9
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following apply with
10
respect to this section:
11
‘‘(A) This section does not establish any
12
cause of action, or require that an automated
13
external defibrillator device be placed at any
14
building or other location.
15
‘‘(B) With respect to the class of persons
16
for which this section provides immunity from
17
civil liability, this section preempts the law of
18
any State to the extent that the otherwise-appli-
19
cable State law would allow for civil liability in
20
any circumstance where this section would pro-
21
vide immunity from civil liability.
22
‘‘(C) This section does not waive any pro-
23
tection from liability for Federal officers or em-
24
ployees under—
25
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•HR 1012 IH
‘‘(i) section 233 of this title; or
1
‘‘(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672, and
2
2679 of title 28, United States Code, or
3
under alternative benefits provided by the
4
United States where the availability of
5
such benefits precludes a remedy under
6
section 1346(b) of such title 28.
7
‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.—
8
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The applicability of
9
subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) includes
10
applicability to any action for civil liability de-
11
scribed in subsection (a), (b), or (c) that arises
12
under Federal law.
13
‘‘(B) FEDERAL
AREAS
ADOPTING
STATE
14
LAW.—If a geographic area is under Federal
15
jurisdiction and is located within a State but
16
out of the jurisdiction of the State, and if, pur-
17
suant to Federal law, the law of the State ap-
18
plies in such area regarding matters for which
19
there is no applicable Federal law, then an ac-
20
tion for civil liability described in subsection
21
(a), (b), or (c) that in such area arises under
22
the law of the State is subject to subsections
23
(a) through (f) in lieu of any related State law
24
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•HR 1012 IH
that would apply in such area in the absence of
1
this subparagraph.
2
‘‘(g) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—
3
‘‘(1) In any civil action arising under State law,
4
the courts of the State involved have jurisdiction to
5
apply the provisions of this section.
6
‘‘(2) The actual, asserted, or potential applica-
7
tion of any provision of this section in any civil ac-
8
tion or as to any civil claim shall not establish the
9
original jurisdiction of the Federal courts over such
10
action or claim under section 1331 of title 28,
11
United States Code.
12
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—
13
‘‘(1) PERCEIVED
MEDICAL
EMERGENCY.—For
14
purposes of this section, the term ‘perceived medical
15
emergency’ means circumstances in which the behav-
16
ior of an individual leads a reasonable person to be-
17
lieve that the individual is experiencing a life-threat-
18
ening medical condition that requires an immediate
19
medical response regarding the heart or other
20
cardiopulmonary functioning of the individual.
21
‘‘(2) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of
22
this section:
23
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‘‘(A)
The
term
‘automated
external
1
defibrillator
device’
or
‘AED’
means
a
2
defibrillator device that—
3
‘‘(i) is commercially distributed in ac-
4
cordance with the Federal Food, Drug,
5
and Cosmetic Act;
6
‘‘(ii) is capable of recognizing the
7
presence or absence of ventricular fibrilla-
8
tion, and is capable of determining without
9
intervention by the user of the device
10
whether defibrillation should be performed;
11
‘‘(iii)
upon
determining
that
12
defibrillation should be performed, is able
13
to deliver an electrical shock to an indi-
14
vidual; and
15
‘‘(iv) in the case of a defibrillator de-
16
vice that may be operated in either an
17
automated or a manual mode, is set to op-
18
erate in the automated mode.
19
‘‘(B) The term ‘cautionary signage’ means,
20
with respect to an AED, any verbal or non-
21
verbal markings or language purporting to limit
22
use of the AED by members of the general pub-
23
lic or to permit use of the AED only by persons
24
with specific skills, qualifications, or training.
25
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‘‘(C)(i) The term ‘harm’ includes physical,
1
nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses.
2
‘‘(ii) The term ‘economic loss’ means any
3
pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including
4
the loss of earnings or other benefits related to
5
employment, medical expense loss, replacement
6
services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and
7
loss of business or employment opportunities)
8
to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed
9
under applicable State law.
10
‘‘(iii) The term ‘noneconomic losses’ means
11
losses for physical and emotional pain, suf-
12
fering,
inconvenience,
physical
impairment,
13
mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoy-
14
ment of life, loss of society and companionship,
15
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic
16
service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation
17
and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or
18
nature.’’.
19
Æ
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