Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:735.5 – Immunity for evacuation, sheltering, or repopulation
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:735.5
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Disaster: means the result of a natural or man-made event which causes loss of life, injury, and property damage, including but not limited to natural disasters such as hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high winds, and other weather related events, forest and marsh fires, and man-made disasters, including but not limited to nuclear power plant incidents, hazardous materials incidents, oil spills, explosion, civil disturbances, public calamity, acts of terrorism, hostile military action, and other events related thereto. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:723
- Emergency: means :
(a) The actual or threatened condition which has been or may be created by a disaster; or
(b)(i) Any natural or man-made event which results in an interruption in the delivery of utility services to any consumer of such services and which affects the safety, health, or welfare of a Louisiana resident; or
(ii) Any instance in which a utility's property is damaged and such damage creates a dangerous condition to the public. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:723
- Evacuation: means an operation whereby all or part of a particular population is temporarily relocated, whether individually or in an organized manner, from an area in which a disaster or emergency has been declared and is considered dangerous for health or safety of the public. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:723
- Parish president: means the president of any parish, mayor-president, mayor of New Orleans (Orleans Parish), or police jury president. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 29:723
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
A. Any health care provider or health care personnel who renders or fails to render health care services, first aid, ambulatory assistance or transportation anywhere in the state, shall not be liable for any civil damages to a person for any injury or death or psychological trauma suffered or alleged to have been suffered by such person in the course of and as a result of an evacuation, sheltering, transportation or repopulation of a health care provider facility or a failed evacuation, sheltering, transportation or repopulation of a health care provider facility or care delivery provided during an evacuation, sheltering, or repopulation of a health care provider facility, during a declared state of emergency, unless the damages are caused by gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.
B. As used in this Section:
(1) “Declared state of emergency” means the initial declaration of an emergency or disaster, and no more than one thirty-day renewal thereof, by the governor in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 29:724 or 766 or by a parish president in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 29:727 or by a military or governmental authority.
(2) “During a declared state of emergency” means during the time period as set forth in the initial declaration and shall also be retroactive to the precipitating event requiring the declaration of disaster or public emergency and for a period of thirty days following the end of the initial declared state of emergency.
(3) “Health care personnel” means and includes all employees and volunteers of a health care provider facility licensed under Louisiana law, a mobile medical unit, and the officers, directors, shareholders, partners, members or managers of legal entities, who own or operate a health care provider facility, or as a health care licensee, who participate and assist in the evacuation, sheltering, care delivery, transportation or repopulation of a health care provider facility.
(4) “Health care provider” shall have the same meanings as set forth in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1299.41(A)(10) or La. Rev. Stat. 29:762(4).
Acts 2009, No. 231, §1, eff. July 1, 2009.