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California Health and Safety Code Section 1799.102

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Health and Safety Code > California Health and Safety Code Section 1799.102

1799.102.  (a) No person who in good faith, and not for
compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care at the
scene of an emergency shall be liable for any civil damages resulting
from any act or omission. The scene of an emergency shall not
include emergency departments and other places where medical care is
usually offered. This subdivision applies only to the medical, law
enforcement, and emergency personnel specified in this chapter.
   (b) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage other
individuals to volunteer, without compensation, to assist others in
need during an emergency, while ensuring that those volunteers who
provide care or assistance act responsibly.
   (2) Except for those persons specified in subdivision (a), no
person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency
medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an
emergency shall be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or
omission other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence
or willful or wanton misconduct. The scene of an emergency shall not
include emergency departments and other places where medical care is
usually offered. This subdivision shall not be construed to alter
existing protections from liability for licensed medical or other
personnel specified in subdivision (a) or any other law.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to change any
existing legal duties or obligations, nor does anything in this
section in any way affect the provisions in Section 1714.5 of the
Civil Code, as proposed to be amended by Senate Bill 39 of the
2009-10 Regular Session of the Legislature.
   (d) The amendments to this section made by the act adding
subdivisions (b) and (c) shall apply exclusively to any legal action
filed on or after the effective date of that act.

Last modified: February 22, 2013