(a) Except for damage or injury resulting from gross negligence or a willful act, there is no liability for any damage or injury on the part of a nonprofit charitable organization that provides vision screenings and, if applicable, provides donated or recycled eyeglasses, or a participating licensed optometrist, ophthalmologist, or trained volunteer who works with such a nonprofit charitable organization in the performance of vision screenings, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The vision screening is provided to address ocular health concerns and, if applicable, to provide a temporary solution in the form of donated or recycled eyeglasses until the patient can get a full examination and eyeglasses.
(2) The vision screening is not intended to replace a full ocular health examination provided by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.
(3) The patient signs a waiver acknowledging that the services provided are a temporary solution until the patient can get a full examination by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.
(4) Each vision screening is supervised by an attending licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.
(5) The eyeglass prescription determinations and ocular health recommendations are provided by an attending licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist.
(6) A written prescription is not provided to the patient.
(7) The eyeglasses provided to the patients are a close or approximate match, within tolerances allowed by the attending licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, to the prescription determined during the vision screening.
(8) The vision screening and eyeglasses are provided without a charge.
(9) The optometrist, ophthalmologist, or volunteer is authorized by the nonprofit organization to provide the vision screening and eyeglasses on behalf of the nonprofit organization and is acting within the scope of his or her authorized responsibilities and the guidelines of the nonprofit charitable organization when providing the vision screening or eyeglasses.
(10) The nonprofit charitable organization provides procedural, risk management, and quality control training, as applicable, to the participating optometrist, ophthalmologist, or volunteer who provides the vision screening or eyeglasses.
(b) The limitation of liability provided in subdivision (a) is not applicable if an action is brought by an officer of a state or local government pursuant to state or local law.
(c) The limitation of liability provided in subdivision (a) is not applicable if the conduct of the nonprofit charitable organization, optometrist, ophthalmologist, or volunteer includes any of the following types of misconduct:
(1) A crime of violence.
(2) A hate crime.
(3) An act involving a sexual offense.
(4) An act involving misconduct in violation of federal or state civil rights laws.
(5) An act performed while the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Nonprofit charitable organization” means an organization exempt from federal income tax as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) “Vision screening” means a test or examination of an individual using a portion of the usual examination procedures in a comprehensive eye examination and refraction, that are selected or directed by an attending licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, and are within the guidelines of the nonprofit charitable organization.
(Added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 68, Sec. 1. (SB 724) Effective January 1, 2014.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018