Health care providers; certain immunity during disaster under specific circumstances, etc. (SB5023)

Introduced By

Sen. Tommy Norment (R-Williamsburg) with support from co-patron Sen. Bill DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach)

Description

Declaration of disaster; health care providers; immunity. Provides that, in cases in which a disaster caused by a communicable disease of public health threat has been declared and in the absence of gross negligence, a health care provider who withholds the provision of certain health care procedures in accordance with the provisions of an Order of Public Health Emergency shall be immune from civil liability for any injury or wrongful death arising from abandonment by such health care provider of any person to whom such health care provider owes a duty to provide health care when the provider was unable to provide the requisite health care to the person to whom he owed such duty of care as a result of the provider's voluntary or mandatory response to the relevant disaster. The bill also clarifies when a health care provider who responds to such disaster will not be liable for any injury to or wrongful death of any person arising from the delivery or withholding of health care due to an emergency and subsequent conditions that caused a lack of resources rendering the health care provider unable to provide the level or manner of care that otherwise would have been required in the absence of the emergency. The bill also clarifies that a "communicable disease of public health threat" includes a pathogen or illness declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. This bill was incorporated into SB 5082. Read the Bill »

Status

08/26/2020: Incorporated into Another Bill

History