Louisiana § RS 40:1133.13 - Civil immunity

§ RS 40:1133.13. Civil immunity

            A.(1) Any certified ambulance operator, certified pursuant to the provisions of this Part, or any emergency medical services practitioner, licensed pursuant to the provisions of this Part, who renders emergency medical care to an individual while in the performance of his medical duties and following the instructions of a physician shall not be individually liable to the individual for civil damages as a result of acts or omissions in rendering the emergency medical care, except for acts or omissions intentionally designed to harm, or for grossly negligent acts or omissions which result in harm to the individual. Nothing in this Subsection shall relieve the driver of the emergency vehicle from liability arising from the operation or use of the vehicle.

            (2) The immunity granted to emergency medical services practitioners by the provisions of this Part shall extend to parish governing authorities, police departments, sheriffs' offices, fire departments, or other public agencies engaged in rendering emergency medical services and its insurers with respect to such emergency medical services unless the emergency medical services practitioner employed by such agencies would be personally liable under the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

            B. Any physician who provides instructions to any emergency medical services practitioner by use of electronic or other means of transmission in connection with the rendering of emergency medical services to an individual shall not be liable unto such practitioner or to an individual or both for civil damages arising from his opinion, judgments, actions, or duties, except for acts or omissions intentionally designed to harm, or for grossly negligent acts or omissions which result in harm to the individual, while exercising that degree of skill and care ordinarily employed by members of his profession in good standing.

            C. No hospital facility which allows the use of telemetry or other equipment to maintain contact between an emergency medical services practitioner and a physician shall be liable for any civil damages arising out of the use of such equipment except for acts or omissions by hospital personnel that are grossly negligent which result in harm to an individual.

            D. No registered nurse, licensed emergency medical services practitioner, or other health professional licensed in Louisiana who supervises, instructs, or trains emergency medical services practitioners in accordance with curricula developed or adopted by the bureau shall be liable for any civil damages arising out of the actions or negligence of the emergency medical personnel whom he supervised, educated, or trained.

            E. There shall be no cause of action or civil liability, and no license or certification holder or applicant shall have any cause of action or any claim for damages against any individual, person, or institution providing information to the commission or its agents or employees when that individual, person, or institution acts without malice and when there is a reasonable belief that such information is accurate.

            F. No public safety telecommunicator who instructs a caller on telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall be liable for any civil damages arising out of the instruction provided to the caller, except for acts or omissions intentionally designed to harm, or for grossly negligent acts or omissions that result in harm to an individual. A caller may decline to receive instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When a caller declines cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction the public safety telecommunicator has no obligation to provide the instruction.

            G. No public safety agency shall be liable for any civil damages for employing individuals to answer 911 emergency calls who are not designated as public safety telecommunicators. Individuals who are not public safety telecommunicators, as defined in R.S. 40:1131, shall not be required to complete the telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation training required by R.S. 40:1133.16 and shall have no obligation to offer and provide telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction to a caller.

            Acts 1977, No. 626, §2. Amended by Acts 1978, No. 469, §1; Acts 1997, No. 913, §2; Acts 2012, No. 789, §2, eff. June 13, 2012; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1233 by HCR 84 of 2015 R.S; Acts 2018, No. 578, §1; Acts 2022, No. 644, §1; Acts 2024, No. 171, §1, eff. May 23, 2024.