GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

SENATE BILL 1269
RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO LIMIT LIABILITY WHEN A PERSON USES AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR TO RENDER EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE TREATMENT TO ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE LIFE OF A PERSON WHO IS IN OR WHO APPEARS TO BE IN CARDIAC ARREST.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Article 1B of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 90-21.15.  Emergency treatment using automated external defibrillator; immunity.
(a)	It is the intent of the General Assembly that, when used in accordance with this section, an automated external defibrillator may be used during an emergency for the purpose of attempting to save the life of another person who is in or who appears to be in cardiac arrest.
(b)	For purposes of this section:
(1)	' Automated external defibrillator' means a device, heart monitor, and defibrillator that meets all of the following requirements:
a.	The device has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration of its premarket notification filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 360(k), as amended.
b.	The device is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia and is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator, whether defibrillation should be performed.
c.	Upon determining that defibrillation should be performed, the device automatically charges and requests delivery of, or delivers, an electrical impulse to an individual's heart.
(2)	'Person' means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, unit of government, or other legal entity.
(3)	'Training' means a nationally recognized course or training program in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator use including the programs approved and provided by the:
a.	American Heart Association.
b.	American Red Cross.
(c)	The use of an automated external defibrillator when used to attempt to save or to save a life shall constitute 'first-aid or emergency health care treatment' under G.S. 90-21.14(a).
(d)	The person who provides the cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator training to a person using an automated external defibrillator, the person responsible for the site where the automated external defibrillator is located when the person has provided for a program of training, and a North Carolina licensed physician writing a prescription without compensation for an automated external defibrillator whether or not required by any federal or state law, shall be immune from civil liability arising from the use of an automated external defibrillator used in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(e)	The immunity from civil liability otherwise existing under law shall not be diminished by the provisions of this section.
(f)	Nothing in this section requires the purchase, placement, or use  of automated external defibrillators by any person, entity, or agency of State, county, or local government.  Nothing in this section applies to a product's liability claim against a manufacturer or seller as defined in G.S. 99B-1.
(g)	In order to enhance public health and safety, a seller of an automated external defibrillator shall notify the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Facilities Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services of the existence, location, and type of automated external defibrillator."
Section 2.  G.S. 90-18(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The following shall not constitute practicing medicine or surgery as defined in subsection (b) of this section:
…
(17)	The use of an automated external defibrillator as provided in G.S. 90-21.15."
Section 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2000, and applies to causes of action arising on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 4th day of July, 2000.

	─────────────────── 
	Marc Basnight
	President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	─────────────────── 
	Joe HackneySpeaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives
	
                                         ─────────────────── 
James B. Hunt, Jr.
	Governor

Approved 	.m. this 	 day of 	, 2000