BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 658
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
658 (Hill)
As Amended June 15, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Maienschein, | |
| | |O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Revises the maintenance and training requirements for
placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in
commercial buildings and K-12 schools that are conditions for
obtaining qualified immunity from civil liability for the
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selection, installation, placement, and use of AEDs in those
facilities. Specifically, among other things, this bill:
1)Eliminates a number of requirements in existing law for a
person or entity that acquires an AED, as a condition for
obtaining qualified immunity, including the following:
a) To ensure that for every AED unit acquired up to five
units, at least one employee per unit must complete a
training course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and
AED use and after the first five AED units are acquired,
for each additional five units acquired, one employee is
trained beginning with the first unit acquired.
b) To ensure that every AED is tested every 30 days.
2)Revises the existing requirements for a person or entity that
acquires an AED, as a condition for obtaining qualified
immunity, requiring the person or entity to ensure the
following: the AED is maintained and tested on a regular basis
according to standards of the manufacturer; all regulations
governing the placement of an AED are satisfied; an agent of
the local EMS agency is notified of the existence, location,
and type of AED acquired; the AED is tested at least
biannually and after each use; all AEDs on the premises are
inspected at least every 90 days for potential issues related
to operability of the device; and all records of the
maintenance and testing required pursuant to this paragraph
are maintained.
3)Requires the principal of a public or private K-12 school,
when an AED is placed in such a school, to ensure that the
school administrators and staff annually receive information
that describes sudden cardiac arrest, the school's emergency
response plan, and the proper use of an AED and to ensure that
instructions, in no less than 14-point type, on how to use the
AED are posted next to every AED. The principal shall, at
least annually, notify school employees as to the location of
all AED units on the campus.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Among other things, provides that no person who in good faith,
and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or
nonmedical care at the scene of an emergency shall be liable
for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission other
than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or
willful or wanton misconduct.
2)Provides that a person or entity that acquires an AED for
emergency use is not liable for any civil damages resulting
from any acts or omissions when the AED is used to render
emergency care, provided that the person or entity has
complied with specified maintenance, training, and notice
requirements.
3)Provides that any person or entity responsible for the site
where the AED is located, is not liable for any civil damages
resulting from any acts or omissions, other than an act or
omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton
misconduct, by a person who uses an AED to render emergency
care provided that the physician, person, or entity has
complies with applicable requirements.
4)Provides that any person or entity that acquires an AED is not
liable for any civil damages resulting from any acts or
omissions in the rendering of the emergency care if that
person or entity complies with all regulations governing the
placement of an AED and laws governing the maintenance and
testing of the AED.
5)Provides that if an AED is placed in a public or private K-12
school, the principal must annually provide school
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administrators and staff with a brochure describing the proper
use of an AED, post similar information next to the AED, and
designate trained employees to be available to respond to an
emergency that may involve the use of an AED during normal
operating hours.
6)Provides that the above provisions providing immunity from
civil liability for the good faith use of an AED do not apply
in the case of personal injury or wrongful death resulting
from the gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of
the person who uses the AED to render emergency care.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: An AED is a medical device that is used to administer
an electric shock to the heart of a person who has suffered
cardiac arrest through the person's chest wall. Built-in
computers in an AED assess the patient's heart rhythm, determine
whether the person is in cardiac arrest, and signal whether to
administer the shock. Audible cues guide the user through the
process of using the AED.
In 1999, in an effort to encourage the installation and use of
AEDs in commercial buildings, the Legislature provided qualified
immunity to commercial property owners who installed AEDs in
their buildings. That legislation SB 911 (Figueroa), Chapter
163, Statutes of 1999, put in place a number of requirements for
property owners who installed AEDs and Good Samaritans who use
them in order to obtain qualified immunity for civil liability
associated with the installation or use of the AED. At the time
the Legislature passed (and the governor signed) SB 911, AEDs
were an emerging technology and not nearly as user-friendly as
they are today.
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Improvements in AED Design and Function. State of the art AEDs
are lightweight portable devices that run on internal batteries.
A built-in computer checks a victim's heart rhythm through
adhesive electrodes. A computer within the AED calculates
whether defibrillation is needed. If so, a recorded voice tells
the rescuer to press the shock button on the AED. The AED
literally "talks" a rescuer through the process of using an AED
by providing a series of audible voice prompts, making it easy
for virtually anyone to correctly use an AED. At the same time,
it is difficult to misuse an AED because the device is able to
analyze the heart rhythm of a sudden cardiac arrest victim and
independently determine if a shock is needed, based on the
regularity (or irregularity) of the victim's heart rhythm. When
appropriate, the AED delivers a shock through electrodes in a
pad placed on the victim's chest which can stop an irregular
rhythm and allow a normal rhythm to resume. The AED will not
administer a shock to a victim whose heart is beating and will
override an operator who attempts to administer a shock to such
a victim.
Importance of Immediate Medical Intervention to Victims of
Cardiac Arrest. Only 10% of victims who suffer cardiac arrest
outside of a hospital survive the events. Among young victims,
the survival rate is even lower: only about 5%. Sudden cardiac
arrest kills nearly 1,000 people per day in the United States
and kills 350,000 Americans annually. It can happen to anyone,
anytime, anywhere and at any age. During a sudden cardiac
arrest, the heart function ceases abruptly and without warning.
When this occurs, the heart is no longer able to pump blood to
the rest of the body. The average emergency response time for a
911 call is eight to 12 minutes. Each minute that
defibrillation is delayed reduces a person's chance of survival
by approximately 10%.
Success of AEDs in Saving Lives and Performing as Designed and
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Intended. A study by Johns Hopkins University found that Good
Samaritan access to AEDs doubles survival from sudden heart
attack. The report found that at least 522 lives can be saved
annually in the United States and Canada by the widespread
placement of AEDs. Researchers found - in real-life, emergency
situations - that use of AEDs by random bystanders more than
doubled survival rates among victims felled by a sudden heart
stoppage due to a heart attack or errant heart rhythm.
Furthermore, according to the United States Department of Health
and Human Services - National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
there have been no reports of AEDs harming users or bystanders.
Despite Improvements in Technology and Ease of Use, AEDs Not
Commonly Installed in Commercial Buildings or Schools.
According to the author, AEDs are not commonly installed in
buildings because of numerous requirements that building owners
must satisfy under current law in order to be exempt from civil
liability associated with the use (or non-use of an AED).
This bill seeks to encourage laypersons to provide emergency
medical care by limiting their civil liability for doing so. It
requires that care is rendered "in good faith and not for
compensation," and exempts conduct that is either grossly
negligent, or that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct. It
also slightly expands the qualified immunity provisions to cover
a "physician and surgeon or other health care professional" who
is involved in the "selection, placement, or installation of an
AED," whereas existing law only provides such protection to a
"physician" who is involved in the "placement" of an AED.
Medical professionals are ordinarily not given the same
protection from liability as laypersons for providing emergency
medical care. However, given that advice about the selection,
placement, or installation of an AED does not constitute medical
advice or treatment, such protection from liability seems
appropriate.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:
0001066