Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1731 – Gratuitous service at scene of emergency; emergency care at hospitals; limitation of liability
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1731
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
A.(1) A physician, surgeon, or physician assistant licensed under the provisions of Chapter 15 of this Title, his professional medical corporation chartered under the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 12:901 et seq., or his limited liability company, or a nurse licensed under the provisions of Chapter 11 of this Title who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services at the scene of an emergency, to a person in need thereof shall not be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission in rendering such care or services or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care for the person involved in said emergency, unless the damage or injury was caused by willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(2)(a) A physician, on-call physician, or surgeon or oral and maxillofacial surgeon, or his professional medical or dental corporation or limited liability company or nurse, licensed or qualified as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or an intern, or resident of a public or private hospital or other medical healthcare facility licensed in this state, who in good faith responds to an imminent life-threatening situation or emergency within the hospital or facility and whose actual duty in the hospital or facility did not require a response to an emergency situation shall not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in rendering the emergency care or service or from failure to provide or arrange for further medical care or treatment of the person involved, unless the damage or injury was caused by willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(b) The limitation of liability provided in Subparagraph (2)(a) of this Subsection shall not apply when, prior to the advent of the imminent life-threatening situation or emergency, the physician or surgeon or his professional medical corporation or limited liability company was a contemporaneously attending or consulting physician or surgeon to the person involved or when the nurse was a contemporaneously attending nurse to the person involved.
(c) An on-call physician or oral and maxillofacial surgeon who gratuitously attends, assists, or treats a patient who comes into an emergency room or department, including any appropriate standard of care treatment necessitated by the patient’s emergent condition, shall not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in rendering the emergency care or service to a patient, with whom there has been no prior physician-patient relationship or from failure to provide or arrange for further medical care or treatment to such patient unless the damage or injury was caused by willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(d) For purposes of this Subsection, “on-call physician” means a physician, or oral and maxillofacial surgeon or his professional medical or dental corporation or limited liability company, who is not primarily employed or contracted by the hospital or other licensed medical healthcare facility to treat emergency room or department patients, but whose actual duties may include treating emergency room or department patients due to the requirements of 42 C.F.R. § 489.24 or La. Rev. Stat. 40:2113.4 to respond to the emergency room or department on an on-call basis and as a condition of the privilege or ability to practice his profession within the hospital or facility.
B. Any physician, surgeon, or member of the medical profession who is not licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana but who holds a valid license to practice medicine in any other state of the United States who gratuitously renders care or services at the scene of an emergency as herein provided shall not be charged with violation of the Louisiana Medical Practice Act.
C. No veterinarian licensed under the provisions of Chapter 18 of this Title, who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services or assistance at the scene of an emergency to an animal or animals in need thereof, shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by such person in rendering the care or services or assistance, or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further veterinary medical treatment or care for the animal involved in the said emergency.
D. No dentist licensed under the provisions of Chapter 9 of this Title, who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services at the scene of an emergency, except in a licensed dentist office or public or private hospital, to a person or persons in need thereof shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by such person in rendering the care or services or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further dental care or treatment or care for the person involved in the emergency.
E.(1) No emergency medical technician who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services at the scene of an emergency to a person or persons in need thereof shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission in rendering the care or services or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care for the person involved in the emergency.
(2) For purposes of this Section, “emergency medical technician” means a certified first responder as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1231(10) and a certified emergency medical technician as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1231(3), (4), or (5).
Acts 1964, No. 46, §1; Acts 1989, No. 347, §1; Acts 1990, No. 148, §1; Acts 1993, No. 618, §1; Acts 1997, No. 316, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1105, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 1033, §1; Acts 2018, No. 206, §3.