Hawaii-2012-HB2312-Introduced

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that every day, over seven hundred lives are lost to sudden cardiac arrest in the United States. Two out of three deaths occur before victims can reach hospitals. More than ninety-five per cent of cardiac arrest victims will die; many die due to the lack of readily available life saving medical equipment. Up to thirty per cent of cardiac arrest victims could be saved if they had access to immediate medical response, including defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Lay rescuer programs that provide early recognition of cardiac arrest, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and early defibrillation within the first minutes of cardiac arrest can increase survival by seven times or more. Communities that have implemented programs ensuring widespread public access to defibrillators, combined with appropriate training, maintenance, and coordination with local emergency medical systems, have dramatically improved the survival rates for victims in cardiac arrest. In Hawaii, the promotion of early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation use could save an additional one hundred victims of sudden cardiac arrest each year. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to promote early cardiopulmonary resuscitation to victims in cardiac arrest by excepting from liability persons who perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation in good faith.

SECTION 2. Section 663-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsections (e) and (f) to read:

"(e) Any person who in good faith, without remuneration or expectation of remuneration, attempts to resuscitate a person in [~~immediate danger of loss of life~~] a perceived medical emergency when administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or any automated external defibrillator, regardless of where the automated external defibrillator that is used is located, shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission except as may result from the person's gross negligence or wanton acts or omissions.

Any person, including [~~an employer~~] employers and schools, who [~~provides~~] provide for a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program, an automated external defibrillator, or an automated external defibrillator training program shall not be vicariously liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission of [~~the persons or employees~~] a person who, in good faith and without remuneration or the expectation of remuneration, [~~attempt~~] attempts to resuscitate a person in [~~immediate danger of loss of life~~] a perceived medical emergency by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or an automated external defibrillator, except as may result from [a] the person's [~~or employer's~~] gross negligence or wanton acts or omissions.

(f) Any physician or physician assistant who administers a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program or an automated external defibrillator program without remuneration or expectation of remuneration shall not be liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission involving the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or the use of an automated external defibrillator, except as may result from the physician's or physician assistant's gross negligence or wanton acts or omissions."

2. By amending subsection (h) to read:

"(h) For the purposes of this section:

"Automated external defibrillator program" means appropriate training course that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation and proficiency in the use and proper maintenance of an automated external defibrillator.

"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation" means an emergency procedure consisting of the manual application of chest compressions and ventilations to maintain circulation and breathing to patients in cardiac arrest.

"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program" means an appropriate training course that provides instruction on recognizing a victim of cardiac arrest and in the manual application of chest compressions and ventilations to patients in cardiac arrest, which instruction may be through visual media, brochures, or hands-on training sessions.

"Good faith" includes but is not limited to: (1) a reasonable opinion that the immediacy of the situation is such that the rendering of care should not be postponed[.] and (2) actions that are reasonable under the circumstances.

"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."

"School" means any day care center, child care facility, headstart program, preschool, kindergarten, elementary, secondary school, or post-secondary school, public or private, including any special school for children in the State.

"Rescue team" means a special group of physicians, basic life support personnel, advanced life support personnel, surgeons, nurses, volunteers, or employees of the owners or operators of the hospital or authorized emergency vehicle to attempt to provide such support and resuscitate persons who are in immediate danger of loss of life in cases of emergency."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2312
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII