Legal Liability Protections for Emergency Medical/Public Health Responses
January 30, 2017
Overview
Liability protections have been put in place at both the state and local levels for different types of actors and entities involved in emergency response efforts. This table highlights those potential liability protections for individuals, including healthcare workers, volunteers and private sector employees, and entities, including government agencies, hospitals or healthcare facilities, non-profit organizations and for-profit organizations.
Federal liability protections are based upon searches of available protections for specified actors. State-level laws provide illustrative examples of different types of protections. Application of these state laws depends on their existence in each jurisdiction (as discussed in the references). In addition, a number of cross-cutting legal protections may arise through Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), malpractice insurance coverage, crisis standards of care, or other avenues.
