AED Training Programs and Liability Issues

Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital due to the length of time it takes for emergency personnel to arrive on the scene. Emergency Defibrillators in public places may double survival if there are people trained to use them. Emergency Defibrillators are an absolute necessity in all places of business, schools, athletic programs, and organizations. Several states have recently passed legislation in recognition of the life-saving potential AEDs offer against sudden cardiac arrest. These states specifically mandate the deployment of AEDs in various public places and facilities and contribute to the establishment of the Standard of Care within communities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) "Near Proximity Rule" requires response to life-threatening emergency within three to four minutes. Accessibility is absolutely critical. Though many facilities are placing emergency defibrillators in their buildings, there still needs to be a major "sense of urgency" to install these emergency defibrillators in convenient locations and in protective wall mounting boxes.

Most health professionals agree that automated external defibrillators are so easy to use that most states in the United States now include the "good faith" use of an AED by any person under the Good Samaritan Laws. "Good faith" protection under a Good Samaritan law means that a volunteer responder (not acting as a part of one's occupation) cannot be held civilly liable for the harm or death of a victim by providing improper or inadequate care, given that the harm or death was not intentional and the responder was acting within the limits of their training and in good faith. In the United States, Good Samaritan laws provide some protection for the use of AEDs by trained and untrained responders. AEDs create little liability if used correctly; many state EMT training and many CPR classes incorporate or offer AED education as a part of their program. In addition to Good Samaritan laws, Ontario, Canada also has the "Chase McEachern Act (Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability), 2007 (Bill 171 - Subsection N)", passed in June, 2007, which protects individuals from liability for damages that may occur from their use of an AED to save someone's life at the immediate scene of an emergency unless damages are caused by gross negligence.

Click here for references to signed, enacted legislation in the 50 states