AED Liability Issues
Author: AEDrx.Com


Victims of sudden cardiac arrest can be saved by performing CPR or using AED according to the situation. In the absence of preparedness and proper arrangement to deal with cardiac arrest emergencies, owners of hospitals, schools, hotels, offices and other institutions can face AED liabilities. It is very important to know the consequences associated with absence of AEDs. Till date, several cases have been filed and won against organizations for not having proper AED program in place.

There are various AED laws defined by every US state that should be considered before implementing an AED program to avoid any kind of legal obligations or lawsuit. Although not having an AED program at all can cause a greater legal problem but misuse of the same can also lead to legal issues. It is very important to use AED equipment that complies with Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and the American Heart Association’s (AHA). In addition to using high quality AED equipment, regular maintenance is extremely important to ensure efficiency and reliability of the equipment in case of cardiac emergency.

In 1997, Florida was the first state to implement state laws on heart attacks, cardiac arrest and defibrillators and by 2001 all the fifty states of America had enacted defibrillator laws or adopted regulations. The purpose of various bills passed and the AED laws enacted was to increase the usage of automatic external defibrillator to save lives in case of cardiac emergencies. AED laws have been regularly updated, expanded, and amended in order to cut-down on death count that is caused due cardiac arrest.

AED Laws implemented in 2008
All the private and public organizations need to abide by the State AED laws or they can be sued or charged penalties by the state government. Not implementing State AED laws can also increase the risk of wrongful death lawsuits. Apart from deploying AEDs on all the strategic points the organizations also need to train their staff about how to use AED in case of emergencies. In case they fail to have an AED trained personnel on board, they can be charged for negligent or improper use of AEDs.
· States supporting AED laws for Schools: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee
· States supporting AED laws for Health Clubs: California, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.
· States supporting AED laws for Day Care Centers: The state of Wisconsin according to which dentists and day care center must have AED program in place.
Workers’ Compensation and Strict Products Liability Act
If an organization has a proper AED program then laws like Workers’ Compensation and Strict Products Liability protect it from risk of liability incase someone has a heart attack and dies on the premises due to sudden cardiac arrest. State-of-the-art AED equipment, regular AED maintenance as per the guidelines, and excellent AED training can help in implementing a successful AED program and avoid AED liability issues. Timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation and application of automated external defibrillator can help save the victims of sudden cardiac arrest significantly. The usage of AEDs has significantly improved the survival rate of cardiac arrests, and there are many state laws formulated to encourage the use of automated external defibrillator.

Federal Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (CASA) & Good Samaritan Legislation
Apart from various AED laws related to AED usage, AED placement, AED training, and AED maintenance, there is now the Federal Cardiac Arrest Survival Act (or CASA) under which, according to the Good Samaritan law the person who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator will be exempted from any kind of liability incase of death.

Today, all 50 states in the United States have passed Good Samaritan legislation to defend people who act and provide medical assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest using AED. However, Good Samaritan laws vary from state to state but by and large they eliminate any kind of AED liability on a person who volunteers to save the victim. Furthermore, according to most AED laws, there is limited or no AED liability for the physician who provides medical approval, the AED trainer, the property owners and other people involved in enabling the AED program.

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