HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 The Committee on Health Promotion offered the following:
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13 Amendment (with title amendment)
14 Remove from the bill: Everything after the enacting clause
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16 and insert in lieu thereof:
17 Section 1. Section 768.1325, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 768.1325 Cardiac Arrest Survival Act; immunity from
20 civil liability.--
21 (1) This section may be cited as the "Cardiac Arrest
22 Survival Act."
23 (2) As used in this section:
24 (a) "Perceived medical emergency" means circumstances
25 in which the behavior of an individual leads a reasonable
26 person to believe that the individual is experiencing a
27 life-threatening medical condition that requires an immediate
28 medical response regarding the heart or other cardiopulmonary
29 functioning of the individual.
30 (b) "Automated external defibrillator device" means a
31 defibrillator device that:
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 1. Is commercially distributed in accordance with the
2 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
3 2. Is capable of recognizing the presence or absence
4 of ventricular fibrillation, and is capable of determining
5 without intervention by the user of the device whether
6 defibrillation should be performed.
7 3. Upon determining that defibrillation should be
8 performed, is able to deliver an electrical shock to an
9 individual.
10 4. In the case of a defibrillator device that may be
11 operated in either an automatic or a manual mode, is set to
12 operate in the automatic mode.
13 (c) "Harm" means damage or loss of any and all types,
14 including, but not limited to, physical, nonphysical,
15 economic, noneconomic, actual, compensatory, consequential,
16 incidental, and punitive damages or losses.
17 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
18 contrary, and except as provided in subsection (4), any person
19 who uses or attempts to use an automated external
20 defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived medical
21 emergency is immune from civil liability for any harm
22 resulting from the use or attempted use of such device, or any
23 act or failure to act in providing or arranging further
24 medical treatment. In addition, any person who acquired the
25 device is immune from such liability, if the harm was not due
26 to the failure of such acquirer of the device to:
27 (a) Notify the local emergency medical services
28 medical director of the most recent placement of the device
29 within a reasonable period of time after the device was
30 placed;
31 (b) Properly maintain and test the device; or
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 (c) Provide appropriate training in the use of the
2 device to an employee or agent of the acquirer when the
3 employee or agent was the person who used the device on the
4 victim, except that such requirement of training does not
5 apply if:
6 1. The employee or agent was not an employee or agent
7 who would have been reasonably expected to use the device; or
8 2. The period of time elapsing between the engagement
9 of the person as an employee or agent and the occurrence of
10 the harm, or between the acquisition of the device and the
11 occurrence of the harm in any case in which the device was
12 acquired after engagement of the employee or agent, was not a
13 reasonably sufficient period in which to provide the training.
14 (4) Immunity under subsection (3) does not apply to a
15 person if:
16 (a) The harm involved was caused by that person's
17 willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless
18 misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the
19 rights or safety of the victim who was harmed;
20 (b) The person is a hospital, clinic, or other entity
21 whose primary purpose is providing health care directly to
22 patients, and the harm was caused by an employee or agent of
23 the entity who used the device while acting within the scope
24 of the employment or agency of the employee or agent;
25 (c) The person is an acquirer of the device who leased
26 the device to a health care entity, or who otherwise provided
27 the device to such entity for compensation without selling the
28 device to the entity, and the harm was caused by an employee
29 or agent of the entity who used the device while acting within
30 the scope of the employment or agency of the employee or
31 agent; or
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 (d) The person is the manufacturer of the device.
2 (5) This section does not establish any cause of
3 action. This section does not require that an automated
4 external defibrillator device be placed at any building or
5 other location or require an acquirer to make available on its
6 premises one or more employees or agents trained in the use of
7 the device.
8 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 768.13, Florida
9 Statutes, is repealed.
10 Section 3. Section 401.2915, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 401.2915 Automated Automatic external
13 defibrillators.--It is the intent of the Legislature that an
14 automated automatic external defibrillator may be used by any
15 person for the purpose of saving the life of another person in
16 cardiac arrest. In order to ensure public health and safety:
17 (1) All persons who have access to or use an automated
18 automatic external defibrillator must obtain appropriate
19 training, to include completion of a course in cardiopulmonary
20 resuscitation or successful completion of a basic first aid
21 course that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation training,
22 and demonstrated proficiency in the use of an automated
23 automatic external defibrillator;
24 (2) Any person or entity in possession of an automated
25 automatic external defibrillator is encouraged to register
26 with the local emergency medical services medical director the
27 existence and location of the automated automatic external
28 defibrillator; and
29 (3) Any person who uses an automated automatic
30 external defibrillator is required to activate the emergency
31 medical services system as soon as possible upon use of the
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 automated automatic external defibrillator.
2 Section 4. No later than January 1, 2003, the
3 Secretary of the Department of Health shall adopt rules to
4 establish guidelines on the appropriate placement of automated
5 external defibrillator devices in buildings or portions of
6 buildings owned or leased by the state, and shall establish,
7 by rule, recommendations on procedures for the deployment of
8 automated external defibrillator devices in such buildings in
9 accordance with the guidelines. The Secretary of the
10 Department of Management Services shall assist the Secretary
11 of the Department of Health in the development of the
12 guidelines. The guidelines for the placement of the automated
13 external defibrillators shall take into account the typical
14 number of employees and visitors in the buildings, the extent
15 of the need for security measures regarding the buildings,
16 special circumstances in buildings or portions of buildings
17 such as high electrical voltages or extreme heat or cold, and
18 such other factors as the Secretaries determine to be
19 appropriate. The Secretary of the Department of Health's
20 recommendations for deployment of automated external
21 defibrillators in buildings or portions of buildings owned or
22 leased by the state shall include:
23 (a) A reference list of appropriate training courses
24 in the use of such devices, including the role of
25 cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
26 (b) The extent to which such devices may be used by
27 laypersons;
28 (c) Manufacturer recommended maintenance and testing
29 of the devices; and
30 (d) Coordination with local emergency medical services
31 systems regarding the incidents of use of the devices.
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
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2 In formulating these guidelines and recommendations, the
3 Secretary may consult with all appropriate public and private
4 entities, including national and local public health
5 organizations that seek to improve the survival rates of
6 individuals who experience cardiac arrest.
7 Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.
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10 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
11 And the title is amended as follows:
12 remove from the title of the bill: the entire title
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14 and insert in lieu thereof:
15 An act relating to automated external
16 defibrillators; creating s. 768.1325, F.S.;
17 creating the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act;
18 providing definitions; providing immunity from
19 liability for certain persons who use automated
20 external defibrillators under certain
21 circumstances; providing exceptions; repealing
22 s. 768.13(4), F.S., relating to the Good
23 Samaritan Act, to delete reference to the use
24 of an automatic external defibrillator in
25 certain emergency situations; amending s.
26 401.2915, F.S.; revising a provision of law
27 relating to automatic external defibrillators
28 to conform to the act; directing the Department
29 of Health, with assistance from the Department
30 of Management Services, to adopt rules to
31 establish guidelines on the appropriate
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 placement and deployment of automated external
2 defibrillator devices in certain buildings
3 owned or leased by the state; specifying
4 factors to be considered in device placement
5 and deployment; providing an effective date.
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7 WHEREAS, over 700 lives are lost every day to sudden
8 cardiac arrest in the United States alone, and
9 WHEREAS, two out of every three sudden cardiac deaths
10 occur before a victim can reach a hospital, and
11 WHEREAS, more than 95 percent of these cardiac arrest
12 victims will die, many because of lack of readily available
13 lifesaving medical equipment, and
14 WHEREAS, with current medical technology, up to 30
15 percent of cardiac arrest victims could be saved if victims
16 had access to immediate medical response, including
17 defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and
18 WHEREAS, once a victim has suffered a cardiac arrest,
19 every minute that passes before returning the heart to a
20 normal rhythm decreases the chances of survival by 10 percent,
21 and
22 WHEREAS, most cardiac arrests are caused by an abnormal
23 heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation, which occurs
24 when the heart's electrical system malfunctions, causing a
25 chaotic rhythm that prevents the heart from pumping oxygen to
26 the victim's brain and body, and
27 WHEREAS, communities that have implemented programs
28 ensuring widespread access to defibrillators, combined with
29 appropriate training, maintenance, and coordination with local
30 emergency medical systems have dramatically improved the
31 survival rates from cardiac arrest, and
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1429
Amendment No. 1 (for drafter's use only)
1 WHEREAS, automated external defibrillator devices have
2 been demonstrated to be safe and effective, even when used by
3 laypersons, since the devices are designed not to allow a user
4 to administer a shock until after the device has analyzed a
5 victim's heart rhythm and determined that an electric shock is
6 required, and
7 WHEREAS, increased public awareness regarding automated
8 external defibrillator devices will greatly facilitate their
9 adoption, and
10 WHEREAS, limiting the liability of users and acquirers
11 of automated external defibrillator devices in emergency
12 situations may encourage the use of the devices, and result in
13 saved lives, NOW, THEREFORE,
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