[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1227 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability protections 
     regarding emergency use of automated external defibrillators.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Establishing a nationally uniform baseline of 
        protection from civil liability for persons who use automated 
        external defibrillators (in this section referred to as 
        ``AEDs'') in perceived medical emergencies, who own or hold 
        other property interests in AEDs used in perceived medical 
        emergencies, or who own, occupy, or manage premises in which an 
        AED is used or from which an AED is taken for use in a 
        perceived medical emergency will encourage the deployment of 
        additional AEDs, which will ultimately save lives that would 
        otherwise have been lost to cardiac arrest.
            (2) The current patchwork of State ``Good Samaritan'' laws 
        provides incomplete, inconsistent, and, in some instances, 
        inadequate protection for entities considering the acquisition 
        or deployment of AEDs. In these circumstances, concerns about 
        potential liability resulting from the good-faith acquisition 
        and deployment of this life-saving technology are inhibiting 
        its deployment.
            (3) Such concerns are especially acute for entities with 
        operations or facilities in multiple States, yet such entities 
        are also among those in which the widespread deployment of AEDs 
        would be most beneficial.
            (4) A nationally uniform baseline of protection from civil 
        liability is needed for persons who use AEDs in perceived 
        medical emergencies, who own or hold other property interests 
        in AEDs used in perceived medical emergencies, or who own, 
        occupy, or manage premises in which an AED is used or from 
        which an AED is taken for use in a perceived medical emergency.

SEC. 3. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL 
              DEFIBRILLATORS.

    Section 248 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 238q) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 248. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED EXTERNAL 
              DEFIBRILLATORS.

    ``(a) Good Samaritan Protections.--Except as provided in subsection 
(e), in the case of a person who--
            ``(1) uses or attempts to use an automated external 
        defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived medical 
        emergency; and
            ``(2) is not the owner-acquirer (as defined in subsection 
        (c)(2)) of the device,
such person is immune from civil liability for any harm resulting from 
the use or attempted use of such device by such person.
    ``(b) Premises Owner/Lessee/Manager Protections.--Except as 
provided in subsection (e), in the case of a person who--
            ``(1) owns, occupies under a lease or similar arrangement, 
        or manages--
                    ``(A) the premises at which an automated external 
                defibrillator device is used or attempted to be used on 
                a victim of a perceived medical emergency; or
                    ``(B) the premises from which an automated external 
                defibrillator device used or attempted to be used on a 
                victim of a perceived medical emergency is taken for 
                such use; and
            ``(2) is not the owner-acquirer of such device,
        such person is immune from civil liability for any harm 
        resulting from such use or attempted use of such device.
    ``(c) Device Owner-Acquirer Protections.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (e), an 
        owner-acquirer of an AED is immune from civil liability for any 
        harm resulting from the use or attempted use of such device, 
        unless the harm was proximately caused by the failure of the 
        owner-acquirer to properly maintain the device according to the 
        guidelines of the device manufacturer.
            ``(2) Owner-acquirer defined.--For purposes of this 
        section, the term `owner-acquirer' means any person who owns or 
        has otherwise acquired a possessory property interest in an AED 
        that is used or attempted to be used on a victim of a perceived 
        medical emergency.
    ``(d) Applicability of Immunity in Certain Circumstances.--The 
immunity provided by subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section 
shall apply regardless of whether--
            ``(1) the AED that is used or attempted to be used is 
        marked with or accompanied by cautionary signage;
            ``(2) the AED that is used or attempted to be used is 
        registered with any government;
            ``(3) the person who used or attempted to use the AED saw, 
        read, understood, complied with, or attempted to comply with 
        any cautionary signage present;
            ``(4) the person who used or attempted to use the AED had 
        received any training relating to the use of (a) AEDs in 
        general or (b) the particular AED used or attempted to be used; 
        or
            ``(5) the person who used or attempted to use the AED was 
        assisted or supervised by any other person, including but not 
        limited to a licensed physician.
    ``(e) Inapplicability of Immunity in Certain Circumstances.--
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsection (d) of this 
section, immunity under subsection (a), (b), or (c)(1) does not apply 
to a person if--
            ``(1) such person's willful or criminal misconduct, gross 
        negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant 
        indifference to the rights or safety of the victim proximately 
        caused the harm involved;
            ``(2) such person is a licensed or certified health 
        professional who used the automated external defibrillator 
        device while acting within the scope of the license or 
        certification of the professional and within the scope of the 
        employment or agency of the professional;
            ``(3) such person is a hospital, clinic, or other entity 
        whose purpose is providing health care directly to patients, 
        and the harm was caused by an employee or agent of the entity 
        who used the device while acting within the scope of the 
        employment or agency of the employee or agent; or
            ``(4) such person is an owner-acquirer of the device who 
        leased the device to a health care entity (or who otherwise 
        provided the device to such entity for compensation without 
        selling the device to the entity), and the harm was caused by 
        an employee or agent of the entity who used the device while 
        acting within the scope of the employment or agency of the 
        employee or agent.
    ``(f) Rules of Construction.--
            ``(1) In general.--The following apply with respect to this 
        section:
                    ``(A) This section does not establish any cause of 
                action, or require that an automated external 
                defibrillator device be placed at any building or other 
                location. This section does not preempt any State law 
                requiring that an automated external defibrillator be 
                placed at any building or other location.
                    ``(B) With respect to the class of persons for 
                which this section provides immunity from civil 
                liability, this section preempts the law of any State 
                to the extent that the otherwise-applicable State law 
                would allow for civil liability in any circumstance 
                where this section would provide immunity from civil 
                liability. This section does not preempt any State law 
                providing immunity from civil liability in any 
                circumstance for which this section would not provide 
                such immunity.
                    ``(C) This section does not waive any protection 
                from liability for Federal officers or employees 
                under--
                            ``(i) section 233 of this title; or
                            ``(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672, and 2679 of 
                        title 28, United States Code, or under 
                        alternative benefits provided by the United 
                        States where the availability of such benefits 
                        precludes a remedy under section 1346(b) of 
                        such title 28.
            ``(2) Civil actions under federal law.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The applicability of subsections 
                (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) includes applicability to 
                any action for civil liability described in subsection 
                (a), (b), or (c) that arises under Federal law.
                    ``(B) Federal areas adopting state law.--If a 
                geographic area is under Federal jurisdiction and is 
                located within a State but out of the jurisdiction of 
                the State, and if, pursuant to Federal law, the law of 
                the State applies in such area regarding matters for 
                which there is no applicable Federal law, then an 
                action for civil liability described in subsection (a), 
                (b), or (c) that in such area arises under the law of 
                the State is subject to subsections (a) through (f) in 
                lieu of any related State law that would apply in such 
                area in the absence of this subparagraph.
    ``(g) Federal Jurisdiction.--
            ``(1) In any civil action arising under State law, the 
        courts of the State involved have jurisdiction to apply the 
        provisions of this section.
            ``(2) The actual, asserted, or potential application of any 
        provision of this section in any civil action or as to any 
        civil claim shall not establish the original jurisdiction of 
        the Federal courts over such action or claim under section 1331 
        of title 28, United States Code.
    ``(h) Definitions.--
            ``(1) Perceived medical emergency.--For purposes of this 
        section, the term `perceived medical emergency' means 
        circumstances in which the behavior of an individual leads a 
        reasonable person to believe that the individual is 
        experiencing a life-threatening medical condition that requires 
        an immediate medical response regarding the heart or other 
        cardiopulmonary functioning of the individual.
            ``(2) Other definitions.--For purposes of this section:
                    ``(A) The term `automated external defibrillator 
                device' or `AED' means a defibrillator device that--
                            ``(i) is commercially distributed in 
                        accordance with the Federal Food, Drug, and 
                        Cosmetic Act;
                            ``(ii) is capable of recognizing the 
                        presence or absence of ventricular 
                        fibrillation, and is capable of determining 
                        without intervention by the user of the device 
                        whether defibrillation should be performed;
                            ``(iii) upon determining that 
                        defibrillation should be performed, is able to 
                        deliver an electrical shock to an individual; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) in the case of a defibrillator 
                        device that may be operated in either an 
                        automated or a manual mode, is set to operate 
                        in the automated mode.
                    ``(B) The term `cautionary signage' means, with 
                respect to an AED, any verbal or non-verbal markings or 
                language purporting to limit use of the AED by members 
                of the general public or to permit use of the AED only 
                by persons with specific skills, qualifications, or 
                training.
                    ``(C)(i) The term `harm' includes physical, 
                nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses.
                    ``(ii) The term `economic loss' means any pecuniary 
                loss resulting from harm (including the loss of 
                earnings or other benefits related to employment, 
                medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss 
                due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or 
                employment opportunities) to the extent recovery for 
                such loss is allowed under applicable State law.
                    ``(iii) The term `noneconomic losses' means losses 
                for physical and emotional pain, suffering, 
                inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, 
                disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of 
                society and companionship, loss of consortium (other 
                than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury 
                to reputation and all other nonpecuniary losses of any 
                kind or nature.''.
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