Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1227 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, 2019 Mr. OLSON (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr. DUNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee 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 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Establishing a nationally uniform baseline 8 of protection from civil liability for persons who use 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1227 IH automated external defibrillators (in this section re- 1 ferred to as ‘‘AEDs’’) in perceived medical emer- 2 gencies, who own or hold other property interests in 3 AEDs used in perceived medical emergencies, or who 4 own, occupy, or manage premises in which an AED 5 is used or from which an AED is taken for use in 6 a perceived medical emergency will encourage the 7 deployment of additional AEDs, which will ulti- 8 mately save lives that would otherwise have been lost 9 to cardiac arrest. 10 (2) The current patchwork of State ‘‘Good Sa- 11 maritan’’ laws provides incomplete, inconsistent, 12 and, in some instances, inadequate protection for en- 13 tities considering the acquisition or deployment of 14 AEDs. In these circumstances, concerns about po- 15 tential liability resulting from the good-faith acquisi- 16 tion and deployment of this life-saving technology 17 are inhibiting its deployment. 18 (3) Such concerns are especially acute for enti- 19 ties with operations or facilities in multiple States, 20 yet such entities are also among those in which the 21 widespread deployment of AEDs would be most ben- 22 eficial. 23 (4) A nationally uniform baseline of protection 24 from civil liability is needed for persons who use 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1227 IH AEDs in perceived medical emergencies, who own or 1 hold other property interests in AEDs used in per- 2 ceived medical emergencies, or who own, occupy, or 3 manage premises in which an AED is used or from 4 which an AED is taken for use in a perceived med- 5 ical emergency. 6 SEC. 3. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTO- 7 MATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS. 8 Section 248 of the Public Health Service Act (42 9 U.S.C. 238q) is amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 248. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF 11 AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS. 12 ‘‘(a) GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS.—Except as 13 provided in subsection (e), in the case of a person who— 14 ‘‘(1) uses or attempts to use an automated ex- 15 ternal defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived 16 medical emergency; and 17 ‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer (as defined in 18 subsection (c)(2)) of the device, 19 such person is immune from civil liability for any harm 20 resulting from the use or attempted use of such device 21 by such person. 22 ‘‘(b) PREMISES OWNER/LESSEE/MANAGER PROTEC- 23 TIONS.—Except as provided in subsection (e), in the case 24 of a person who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1227 IH ‘‘(1) owns, occupies under a lease or similar ar- 1 rangement, or manages— 2 ‘‘(A) the premises at which an automated 3 external defibrillator device is used or at- 4 tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived 5 medical emergency; or 6 ‘‘(B) the premises from which an auto- 7 mated external defibrillator device used or at- 8 tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived 9 medical emergency is taken for such use; and 10 ‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer of such device, 11 such person is immune from civil liability for any 12 harm resulting from such use or attempted use of 13 such device. 14 ‘‘(c) DEVICE OWNER-ACQUIRER PROTECTIONS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub- 16 section (e), an owner-acquirer of an AED is immune 17 from civil liability for any harm resulting from the 18 use or attempted use of such device, unless the harm 19 was proximately caused by the failure of the owner- 20 acquirer to properly maintain the device according to 21 the guidelines of the device manufacturer. 22 ‘‘(2) OWNER-ACQUIRER DEFINED.—For pur- 23 poses of this section, the term ‘owner-acquirer’ 24 means any person who owns or has otherwise ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1227 IH quired a possessory property interest in an AED 1 that is used or attempted to be used on a victim of 2 a perceived medical emergency. 3 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY OF IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN CIR- 4 CUMSTANCES.—The immunity provided by subsections 5 (a), (b), and (c) of this section shall apply regardless of 6 whether— 7 ‘‘(1) the AED that is used or attempted to be 8 used is marked with or accompanied by cautionary 9 signage; 10 ‘‘(2) the AED that is used or attempted to be 11 used is registered with any government; 12 ‘‘(3) the person who used or attempted to use 13 the AED saw, read, understood, complied with, or 14 attempted to comply with any cautionary signage 15 present; 16 ‘‘(4) the person who used or attempted to use 17 the AED had received any training relating to the 18 use of (a) AEDs in general or (b) the particular 19 AED used or attempted to be used; or 20 ‘‘(5) the person who used or attempted to use 21 the AED was assisted or supervised by any other 22 person, including but not limited to a licensed physi- 23 cian. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1227 IH ‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY OF IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN 1 CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding anything to the con- 2 trary in subsection (d) of this section, immunity under 3 subsection (a), (b), or (c)(1) does not apply to a person 4 if— 5 ‘‘(1) such person’s willful or criminal mis- 6 conduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a 7 conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safe- 8 ty of the victim proximately caused the harm in- 9 volved; 10 ‘‘(2) such person is a licensed or certified health 11 professional who used the automated external defi- 12 brillator device while acting within the scope of the 13 license or certification of the professional and within 14 the scope of the employment or agency of the profes- 15 sional; 16 ‘‘(3) such person is a hospital, clinic, or other 17 entity whose purpose is providing health care di- 18 rectly to patients, and the harm was caused by an 19 employee or agent of the entity who used the device 20 while acting within the scope of the employment or 21 agency of the employee or agent; or 22 ‘‘(4) such person is an owner-acquirer of the 23 device who leased the device to a health care entity 24 (or who otherwise provided the device to such entity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1227 IH for compensation without selling the device to the 1 entity), and the harm was caused by an employee or 2 agent of the entity who used the device while acting 3 within the scope of the employment or agency of the 4 employee or agent. 5 ‘‘(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following apply with 7 respect to this section: 8 ‘‘(A) This section does not establish any 9 cause of action, or require that an automated 10 external defibrillator device be placed at any 11 building or other location. This section does not 12 preempt any State law requiring that an auto- 13 mated external defibrillator 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. This section 22 does not preempt any State law providing im- 23 munity from civil liability in any circumstance 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1227 IH for which this section would not provide such 1 immunity. 2 ‘‘(C) This section does not waive any pro- 3 tection from liability for Federal officers or em- 4 ployees under— 5 ‘‘(i) section 233 of this title; or 6 ‘‘(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672, and 7 2679 of title 28, United States Code, or 8 under alternative benefits provided by the 9 United States where the availability of 10 such benefits precludes a remedy under 11 section 1346(b) of such title 28. 12 ‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicability of 14 subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) includes 15 applicability to any action for civil liability de- 16 scribed in subsection (a), (b), or (c) that arises 17 under Federal law. 18 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL AREAS ADOPTING STATE 19 LAW.—If a geographic area is under Federal 20 jurisdiction and is located within a State but 21 out of the jurisdiction of the State, and if, pur- 22 suant to Federal law, the law of the State ap- 23 plies in such area regarding matters for which 24 there is no applicable Federal law, then an ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1227 IH tion for civil liability described in subsection 1 (a), (b), or (c) that in such area arises under 2 the law of the State is subject to subsections 3 (a) through (f) in lieu of any related State law 4 that would apply in such area in the absence of 5 this subparagraph. 6 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.— 7 ‘‘(1) In any civil action arising under State law, 8 the courts of the State involved have jurisdiction to 9 apply the provisions of this section. 10 ‘‘(2) The actual, asserted, or potential applica- 11 tion of any provision of this section in any civil ac- 12 tion or as to any civil claim shall not establish the 13 original jurisdiction of the Federal courts over such 14 action or claim under section 1331 of title 28, 15 United States Code. 16 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.— 17 ‘‘(1) PERCEIVED MEDICAL EMERGENCY.—For 18 purposes of this section, the term ‘perceived medical 19 emergency’ means circumstances in which the behav- 20 ior of an individual leads a reasonable person to be- 21 lieve that the individual is experiencing a life-threat- 22 ening medical condition that requires an immediate 23 medical response regarding the heart or other 24 cardiopulmonary functioning of the individual. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1227 IH ‘‘(2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 1 this section: 2 ‘‘(A) The term ‘automated external defib- 3 rillator device’ or ‘AED’ means a defibrillator 4 device that— 5 ‘‘(i) is commercially distributed in ac- 6 cordance with the Federal Food, Drug, 7 and Cosmetic Act; 8 ‘‘(ii) is capable of recognizing the 9 presence or absence of ventricular fibrilla- 10 tion, and is capable of determining without 11 intervention by the user of the device 12 whether defibrillation should be performed; 13 ‘‘(iii) upon determining that defibrilla- 14 tion should be performed, is able to deliver 15 an electrical shock to an individual; and 16 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a defibrillator de- 17 vice that may be operated in either an 18 automated or a manual mode, is set to op- 19 erate in the automated mode. 20 ‘‘(B) The term ‘cautionary signage’ means, 21 with respect to an AED, any verbal or non- 22 verbal markings or language purporting to limit 23 use of the AED by members of the general pub- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1227 IH lic or to permit use of the AED only by persons 1 with specific skills, qualifications, or training. 2 ‘‘(C)(i) The term ‘harm’ includes physical, 3 nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses. 4 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘economic loss’ means any 5 pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including 6 the loss of earnings or other benefits related to 7 employment, medical expense loss, replacement 8 services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and 9 loss of business or employment opportunities) 10 to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed 11 under applicable State law. 12 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘noneconomic losses’ means 13 losses for physical and emotional pain, suf- 14 fering, inconvenience, physical impairment, 15 mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoy- 16 ment of life, loss of society and companionship, 17 loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic 18 service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation 19 and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or 20 nature.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1227.IH H1227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS