S.B. 86 Enrolled

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AMENDMENTS
2000 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: John L. Valentine
AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH; EXPANDING THE TRAINING PROGRAMS
RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE FOR FULLY AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS; AND EXTENDING IMMUNITY TO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
WHO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE USE OF FULLY AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
26-8a-308, as enacted by Chapter 141, Laws of Utah 1999
26-8a-601, as renumbered and amended by Chapter 141 and last amended by Chapter 285,
Laws of Utah 1999
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 26-8a-308 is amended to read:
26-8a-308. Exemptions.
(1) The following persons may provide emergency medical services to a patient without
being certified or licensed under this chapter:
(a) out-of-state emergency medical service personnel and providers in time of disaster;
(b) an individual who gratuitously acts as a Good Samaritan;
(c) a family member;
(d) a private business if emergency medical services are provided only to employees at the
place of business and during transport;
(e) an agency of the United States government if compliance with this chapter would be
inconsistent with federal law; and
(f) police, fire, and other public service personnel if:
(i) emergency medical services are rendered in the normal course of the person's duties; and
(ii) medical control, after being apprised of the circumstances, directs immediate transport.

(2) An ambulance or emergency response vehicle may operate without a permit issued under
Section 26-8a-304 in time of disaster.
(3) Nothing in this chapter or Title 58, Occupations and Professions, may be construed as
requiring a license or certificate for an individual to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use
a fully automated external defibrillator if that individual has successfully completed a course that
includes instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the operation and use of a fully automated
external defibrillator that is conducted in accordance with guidelines of the American Heart
Association, American Red Cross, or other nationally recognized program by a person qualified by
training or experience.
(4) Nothing in this chapter may be construed as requiring a license, permit, designation, or
certificate for an acute care hospital, medical clinic, physician's office, or other fixed medical facility
that:
(a) is staffed by a physician, physician's assistant, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse; and
(b) treats an individual who has presented himself or was transported to the hospital, clinic,
office, or facility.
Section 2. Section 26-8a-601 is amended to read:
26-8a-601. Persons and activities exempt from civil liability.
(1) A licensed physician, physician's assistant, or licensed registered nurse who, gratuitously
and in good faith, gives oral or written instructions to an individual certified under Section 26-8a-302
or a person permitted to use a fully automated external defibrillator because of Section 26-8a-308 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) An individual certified under Section 26-8a-302 , during either training or after
certification, a licensed physician, physician's assistant, 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.

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(3) An individual certified under Section 26-8a-302 is not subject to civil liability for failure
to obtain consent in rendering emergency medical services 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 medical care, provided that the certified individual
acted 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 individual certified under Section 26-8a-302 is not liable
for any civil damages for any act or omission in connection with such sponsorship, authorization,
support, finance, or supervision of the certified individual where the act or omission occurs in
connection with the certified individual'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
certified individual, 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 care unit 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 receiving facility to accept and render
necessary treatment to the patient.
(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 care
in the course of ski patrol duties 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.

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(7) An emergency medical service provider who, in good faith, transports an individual
against his will but at the direction of a law enforcement officer pursuant to Section 62A-12-232 is
not liable for civil damages for transporting the individual.
(8) A person who is permitted to use a fully automated external defibrillator because of
Section 26-8a-308 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.

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