H.B. 50 Enrolled

EXPANSION OF GOOD SAMARITAN ACT
1999 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Richard M. Siddoway
AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH; EXTENDING IMMUNITY TO A TRAINED PERSON
WHO USES A FULLY AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR IN AN EMERGENCY
SITUATION; AND PROVIDING A COORDINATION CLAUSE.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
26-8-7.5, as enacted by Chapter 90, Laws of Utah 1998
26-8-11, as last amended by Chapter 320, Laws of Utah 1990
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 26-8-7.5 is amended to read:
26-8-7.5. Fully automated external defibrillator.
(1) "Basic emergency care training for cardiac arrest" means a course that:
(a) includes instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the operation and use of a
fully [automatic] automated external defibrillator; and
(b) is conducted in accordance with guidelines of the American Heart Association by a
person qualified by training or experience.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 26-8-7 , a person who has received basic emergency care
training for cardiac arrest may provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use a fully [automatic]
automated external defibrillator without a license, certificate, designation, or permit issued under
this chapter or Title 58, Occupations and Professions.
Section 2. Section 26-8-11 is amended to read:
26-8-11. Persons and activities exempt from civil liability.
(1) A licensed physician or licensed registered nurse who, gratuitously and in good faith,
gives oral or written instructions to certified basic or advanced life support personnel to provide
emergency care authorized by this chapter is not liable for any civil damages as a result of issuing
the instructions, unless the instructions given were the result of gross negligence or willful

misconduct.
(2) A basic or advanced life support person during training or after certification, a licensed
physician, or a registered nurse who, gratuitously and in good faith, provides emergency medical
instructions or renders emergency medical care authorized by this chapter is not liable for any civil
damages as a result of any act or omission in providing the emergency medical instructions or
medical care, unless the act or omission is the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
(3) A certified basic or advanced life support person is not subject to civil liability for failure
to obtain consent in rendering emergency medical care authorized by this chapter to any individual
who is unable to give his consent, regardless of the individual's age, where there is no other person
present legally authorized to consent to emergency treatment, provided that such personnel act in
good faith.
(4) A principal, agent, contractor, employee, or representative of an agency, organization,
institution, corporation, or entity of state or local government that sponsors, authorizes, supports,
finances, or supervises any functions of an emergency medical services person certified and
authorized pursuant to this chapter, including an advanced life support person, is not liable for any
civil damages for any act or omission in connection with such sponsorship, authorization, support,
finance, or supervision of such emergency medical services person where the act or omission occurs
in connection with that person's training or occurs outside a hospital where the life of a patient is in
immediate danger, unless the act or omission is inconsistent with the training of the emergency
medical services personnel, and unless the act or omission is the result of gross negligence or willful
misconduct.
(5) A physician who gratuitously and in good faith arranges for, requests, recommends, or
initiates the transfer of a patient from a hospital to a critical medical care facility in another hospital
is not liable for any civil damages as a result of such transfer where:
(a) sound medical judgment indicates that the patient's medical condition is beyond the care
capability of the transferring hospital or the medical community in which that hospital is located; and
(b) the physician has secured an agreement from the transferee facility to accept and render
necessary treatment to the patient.

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(6) A person who is a registered member of the National Ski Patrol System (NSPS) or a
member of a ski patrol who has completed a course in winter emergency care offered by the NSPS
combined with CPR for medical technicians offered by the American Red Cross or American Heart
Association, or an equivalent course of instruction, and who in good faith renders emergency
medical care is not liable for civil damages as a result of any act or omission in rendering the
emergency care, unless the act or omission is the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
(7) A person who is permitted to use a fully automated external defibrillator because of
Section 26-8-7.5 is not liable for civil damages as a result of any act or omission related to the use
of the defibrillator in providing emergency medical care gratuitously and in good faith to a person
who reasonably appears to be in cardiac arrest, unless the act or omission is the result of gross
negligence or wilful misconduct.
Section 3. Coordination clause.
If this bill and S.B. 54, Emergency Medical Services Systems Act, both pass, it is the intent
of the Legislature that the amendments to Section 26-8-11 in this bill be incorporated into Section
26-8a-601 in S.B. 54.

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