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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 795
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3350
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE U SE OF AUTOMATIC EXTE RNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 52-557b of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(a) (1) A person licensed to practice medicine and surgery under the 4
provisions of chapter 370 or dentistry under the provisions of section 5
20-106 or members of the same professions licensed to practice in any 6
other state of the United States, a person licensed as a registered nurse 7
under section 20-93 or 20-94 or certified as a licensed practical nurse 8
under section 20-96 or 20-97, a medical technician or any person 9
operating a cardiopulmonary resuscitator or a person trained in 10
cardiopulmonary resuscitation in accordance with the guidelines set 11
forth by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association, or a 12
person operating an automatic external defibrillator, who, voluntarily 13
and gratuitously and other than in the ordinary course of such person's 14
employment or practice, renders emergency medical or professional 15
assistance to a person in need thereof, shall not be liable to such person 16 Raised Bill No. 795
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assisted for civil damages for any personal injuries which result from 17
acts or omissions by such person in rendering the emergency care, 18
which may constitute ordinary negligence. A person or entity that 19
provides or maintains an automatic external defibrillator shall not be 20
liable for the acts or omissions of the person or entity in providing or 21
maintaining the automatic external defibrillator, which may constitute 22
ordinary negligence. The immunity provided in this subsection does 23
not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, wilful or wanton 24
negligence. With respect to the use of an automatic external 25
defibrillator, the immunity provided in this subsection shall only apply 26
to acts or omissions involving the use of an automatic external 27
defibrillator in the rendering of emergency care. Nothing in this 28
subsection shall be construed to exempt paid or volunteer firefighters, 29
police officers or emergency medical services personnel from 30
completing training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or in the use of 31
an automatic external defibrillator in accordance with the guidelines 32
set forth by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association. 33
For the purposes of this subsection, "automatic external defibrillator" 34
means a device that: [(1)] (A) Is used to administer an electric shock 35
through the chest wall to the heart; [(2)] (B) contains internal decision-36
making electronics, microcomputers or special software that allows it 37
to interpret physiologic signals, make medical diagnosis and, if 38
necessary, apply therapy; [(3)] (C) guides the user through the process 39
of using the device by audible or visual prompts; and [(4)] (D) does not 40
require the user to employ any discretion or judgment in its use. 41
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 42
subsection, a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery under 43
the provisions of chapter 370 or dentistry under the provisions of 44
section 20-106 or members of the same professions licensed to practice 45
in any other state of the United States, or a person licensed as a 46
registered nurse under section 20-93 or 20-94 or certified as a licensed 47
practical nurse under section 20-96 or 20-97, who operates an 48
automatic external defibrillator to render emergency medical or 49
professional assistance to a person in need thereof shall not be liable to 50 Raised Bill No. 795
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such person assisted for civil damages for any personal injuries which 51
result from the malfunctioning of the automatic external defibrillator, 52
which malfunctioning may constitute ordinary negligence. 53
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 52-557b(a)
PH Joint Favorable