Exemptions From Liability - Medicine - Business & Professions - CA

Section § 2395

If you're a licensed professional like a doctor and you help someone during an emergency, you won't be sued for any mistakes you make while trying to help, as long as you're acting in good faith. This protection applies even if the emergency is happening in a hospital during a declared medical disaster, which is a situation recognized by the government as a state or local emergency. However, this legal protection does not cover you if you intentionally do something wrong.

No licensee, who in good faith renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency, shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions by such person in rendering the emergency care.

“The scene of an emergency” as used in this section shall include, but not be limited to, the emergency rooms of hospitals in the event of a medical disaster. “Medical disaster” means a duly proclaimed state of emergency or local emergency declared pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

Acts or omissions exempted from liability pursuant to this section shall include those acts or omissions which occur after the declaration of a medical disaster and those which occurred prior to such declaration but after the commencement of such medical disaster. The immunity granted in this section shall not apply in the event of a willful act or omission.

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Section § 2395.5

If a doctor is on-call at a hospital emergency room and gives emergency childbirth care, they won't be held responsible for mistakes, unless the mistakes are very serious. This protection doesn't apply if the doctor is paid to be on-call unless the hospital agrees in writing to take liability. It also doesn’t apply if the doctor had treated the patient before, or if there was already a payment agreement in place for that care. The hospital still has liability if its actions are negligent.

(a) A licensee who serves on an on-call basis to a hospital emergency room, who in good faith renders emergency obstetrical services to a person while serving on-call, shall not be liable for any civil damages as a result of any negligent act or omission by the licensee in rendering the emergency obstetrical services. The immunity granted by this section shall not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct.

(b) The protections of subdivision (a) shall not apply to the licensee in any of the following cases:

(1) Consideration in any form was provided to the licensee for serving, or the licensee was required to serve, on an on-call basis to the hospital emergency room. In either event, the protections of subdivision (a) shall not apply unless the hospital expressly, in writing, accepts liability for the licensee’s negligent acts or omissions.

(2) The licensee had provided prior medical diagnosis or treatment to the same patient for a condition having a bearing on or relevance to the treatment of the obstetrical condition which required emergency services.

(3) Before rendering emergency obstetrical services, the licensee had a contractual obligation or agreement with the patient, another licensee, or a third-party payer on the patient’s behalf to provide obstetrical care for the patient, or the licensee had a reasonable expectation of payment for the emergency services provided to the patient.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (b), nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or modify the liability of the hospital for ordinary or gross negligence.

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Section § 2396

If a licensed medical professional, acting in good faith, gives emergency medical help to someone because of a problem caused by a previous licensed professional's treatment, they cannot be sued for civil damages for what they did or didn't do while helping.

No licensee, who in good faith upon the request of another person so licensed, renders emergency medical care to a person for medical complication arising from prior care by another person so licensed, shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions by such licensed person in rendering such emergency medical care.

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Section § 2397

This law section states that a medical professional cannot be sued for not informing a patient about the risks of a medical procedure if it's an emergency and the patient was unconscious, or if the procedure needed to be done immediately without time for consent. This protection also applies if the patient can't legally give consent and there's no time to inform a guardian. However, this only applies to lack of informed consent, not if the procedure was done poorly or negligently. An emergency in this context is when immediate action is needed to prevent severe pain, disability, or death, both in a doctor's office or a hospital.

(a) A licensee shall not be liable for civil damages for injury or death caused in an emergency situation occurring in the licensee’s office or in a hospital on account of a failure to inform a patient of the possible consequences of a medical procedure where the failure to inform is caused by any of the following:

(1) The patient was unconscious.

(2) The medical procedure was undertaken without the consent of the patient because the licensee reasonably believed that a medical procedure should be undertaken immediately and that there was insufficient time to fully inform the patient.

(3) A medical procedure was performed on a person legally incapable of giving consent, and the licensee reasonably believed that a medical procedure should be undertaken immediately and that there was insufficient time to obtain the informed consent of a person authorized to give such consent for the patient.

(b) This section is applicable only to actions for damages for injuries or death arising because of a licensee’s failure to inform, and not to actions for damages arising because of a licensee’s negligence in rendering or failing to render treatment.

(1) “Hospital” means a licensed general acute care hospital as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) “Emergency situation occurring in the licensee’s office” means a situation occurring in an office, other than a hospital, used by a licensee for the examination or treatment of patients, requiring immediate services for alleviation of severe pain, or immediate diagnosis and treatment of unforeseeable medical conditions, which, if not immediately diagnosed and treated, would lead to serious disability or death.

(3) “Emergency situation occurring in a hospital” means a situation occurring in a hospital, whether or not it occurs in an emergency room, requiring immediate services for alleviation of severe pain, or immediate diagnosis and treatment of unforeseeable medical conditions, which, if not immediately diagnosed and treated, would lead to serious disability or death.

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Section § 2398

This law protects people with licenses who give voluntary, unpaid emergency medical help at high school or community college sports events. If they assist an injured person during the event or while transporting them to a hospital, they won't be held responsible for mistakes, as long as they're not extremely careless.

No licensee, who in good faith and without compensation renders voluntary emergency medical assistance to a participant in a community college or high school athletic event or contest, at the site of the event or contest, or during transportation to a health care facility, for an injury suffered in the course of such event or contest, shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions by such person in rendering such voluntary medical assistance. The immunity granted by this section shall not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross negligence.

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