State Laws Extending Comprehensive Legal Liability Protections for Professional Health-Care Volunteers during Public Health Emergencies

Abstract

A predictable consequence both during and in the short-term aftermath of a significant natural disaster, terrorist attack, or public health emergency is that hospitals and other health-care facilities will experience a surge in patients requiring treatment and stabilization.Depending on the nature, duration, and scope of the emergency, this influx can seriously overwhelm any community's local medical response system.In such catastrophic situations, volunteer health-care professionals provide invaluable expertise and personnel support to bolster and broaden the emergency response effort.However, as with any health-care intervention, the question arises of how to address the potential for legal liability that may arise in the event that the responder performs in a negligent fashion and thus causes personal injury.The absence of legal protections against liability in such circumstances may seriously impede efforts to encourage private health professionals to volunteer their services.