I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4152 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability protections 
regarding emergency use of automated external defibrillators. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 2, 2015 
Mr. OLSON (for himself and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability 
protections regarding emergency use of automated exter-
nal defibrillators. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cardiac Arrest Sur-
vival Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Establishing a nationally uniform baseline 
of protection from civil liability for persons who use 
automated external defibrillators (in this section re-
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ferred to as ‘‘AEDs’’) in perceived medical emer-
gencies, who own or hold other property interests in 
AEDs used in perceived medical emergencies, or who 
own, occupy, or manage premises in which an AED 
is used or from which an AED is taken for use in 
a perceived medical emergency will encourage the 
deployment of additional AEDs, which will ulti-
mately save lives that would otherwise have been lost 
to cardiac arrest. 
(2) The current patchwork of State ‘‘Good Sa-
maritan’’ laws provides incomplete, inconsistent, 
and, in some instances, inadequate protection for en-
tities considering the acquisition or deployment of 
AEDs. In these circumstances, concerns about po-
tential liability resulting from the good-faith acquisi-
tion and deployment of this life-saving technology 
are inhibiting its deployment. 
(3) Such concerns are especially acute for enti-
ties with operations or facilities in multiple States, 
yet such entities are also among those in which the 
widespread deployment of AEDs would be most ben-
eficial. 
(4) A nationally uniform baseline of protection 
from civil liability is needed for persons who use 
AEDs in perceived medical emergencies, who own or 
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hold other property interests in AEDs used in per-
ceived medical emergencies, or who own, occupy, or 
manage premises in which an AED is used or from 
which an AED is taken for use in a perceived med-
ical emergency. 
SEC. 3. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF AUTO-
MATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS. 
Section 248 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 238q) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 248. LIABILITY REGARDING EMERGENCY USE OF 
AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS. 
‘‘(a) GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS.—Except as 
provided in subsection (e), in the case of a person who— 
‘‘(1) uses or attempts to use an automated ex-
ternal defibrillator device on a victim of a perceived 
medical emergency, and 
‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer (as defined in 
subsection (c)(2)) of the device, 
such person is immune from civil liability for any harm 
resulting from the use or attempted use of such device 
by such person. 
‘‘(b) PREMISES OWNER/LESSEE/MANAGER PROTEC-
TIONS.—Except as provided in subsection (e), in the case 
of a person who— 
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‘‘(1) owns, occupies under a lease or similar ar-
rangement, or manages— 
‘‘(A) the premises at which an automated 
external defibrillator device is used or at-
tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived 
medical emergency, or 
‘‘(B) the premises from which an auto-
mated external defibrillator device used or at-
tempted to be used on a victim of a perceived 
medical emergency is taken for such use, and 
‘‘(2) is not the owner-acquirer of such device, 
such person is immune from civil liability for any harm 
resulting from such use or attempted use of such device. 
‘‘(c) DEVICE OWNER-ACQUIRER PROTECTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (e), an owner-acquirer of an AED is immune 
from civil liability for any harm resulting from the 
use or attempted use of such device, unless the harm 
was proximately caused by the failure of the owner- 
acquirer to properly maintain the device according to 
the guidelines of the device manufacturer. 
‘‘(2) OWNER-ACQUIRER
DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘owner-acquirer’ 
means any person who owns or has otherwise ac-
quired a possessory property interest in an AED 
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that is used or attempted to be used on a victim of 
a perceived medical emergency. 
‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY OF IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN CIR-
CUMSTANCES.—The immunity provided by subsections 
(a), (b), and (c) of this section shall apply regardless of 
whether— 
‘‘(1) the AED that is used or attempted to be 
used is marked with or accompanied by cautionary 
signage; 
‘‘(2) the AED that is used or attempted to be 
used is registered with any government; 
‘‘(3) the person who used or attempted to use 
the AED saw, read, understood, complied with, or 
attempted to comply with any cautionary signage 
present; 
‘‘(4) the person who used or attempted to use 
the AED had received any training relating to the 
use of (a) AEDs in general or (b) the particular 
AED used or attempted to be used; or 
‘‘(5) the person who used or attempted to use 
the AED was assisted or supervised by any other 
person, including but not limited to a licensed physi-
cian. 
‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY
OF IMMUNITY
IN CERTAIN 
CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding anything to the con-
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trary in subsection (d) of this section, immunity under 
subsection (a), (b), or (c)(1) does not apply to a person 
if— 
‘‘(1) such person’s willful or criminal mis-
conduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a 
conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safe-
ty of the victim proximately caused the harm in-
volved; 
‘‘(2) such person is a licensed or certified health 
professional who used the automated external 
defibrillator device while acting within the scope of 
the license or certification of the professional and 
within the scope of the employment or agency of the 
professional; 
‘‘(3) such person is a hospital, clinic, or other 
entity whose purpose is providing health care di-
rectly to patients, and the harm was caused by an 
employee or agent of the entity who used the device 
while acting within the scope of the employment or 
agency of the employee or agent; or 
‘‘(4) such person is an owner-acquirer of the 
device who leased the device to a health care entity 
(or who otherwise provided the device to such entity 
for compensation without selling the device to the 
entity), and the harm was caused by an employee or 
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agent of the entity who used the device while acting 
within the scope of the employment or agency of the 
employee or agent. 
‘‘(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following apply with 
respect to this section: 
‘‘(A) This section does not establish any 
cause of action, or require that an automated 
external defibrillator device be placed at any 
building or other location. This section does not 
preempt any State law requiring that an auto-
mated external defibrillator be placed at any 
building or other location. 
‘‘(B) With respect to the class of persons 
for which this section provides immunity from 
civil liability, this section preempts the law of 
any State to the extent that the otherwise-appli-
cable State law would allow for civil liability in 
any circumstance where this section would pro-
vide immunity from civil liability. This section 
does not preempt any State law providing im-
munity from civil liability in any circumstance 
for which this section would not provide such 
immunity. 
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‘‘(C) This section does not waive any pro-
tection from liability for Federal officers or em-
ployees under— 
‘‘(i) section 233 of this title; or 
‘‘(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672, and 
2679 of title 28, United States Code, or 
under alternative benefits provided by the 
United States where the availability of 
such benefits precludes a remedy under 
section 1346(b) of such title 28. 
‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The applicability of 
subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) includes 
applicability to any action for civil liability de-
scribed in subsection (a), (b), or (c) that arises 
under Federal law. 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL
AREAS
ADOPTING
STATE 
LAW.—If a geographic area is under Federal 
jurisdiction and is located within a State but 
out of the jurisdiction of the State, and if, pur-
suant to Federal law, the law of the State ap-
plies in such area regarding matters for which 
there is no applicable Federal law, then an ac-
tion for civil liability described in subsection 
(a), (b), or (c) that in such area arises under 
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the law of the State is subject to subsections 
(a) through (f) in lieu of any related State law 
that would apply in such area in the absence of 
this subparagraph. 
‘‘(g) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.— 
‘‘(1) In any civil action arising under State law, 
the courts of the State involved have jurisdiction to 
apply the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(2) The actual, asserted, or potential applica-
tion of any provision of this section in any civil ac-
tion or as to any civil claim shall not establish the 
original jurisdiction of the Federal courts over such 
action or claim under section 1331 of title 28, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PERCEIVED
MEDICAL
EMERGENCY.—For 
purposes of this section, the term ‘perceived medical 
emergency’ means circumstances in which the behav-
ior of an individual leads a reasonable person to be-
lieve that the individual is experiencing a life-threat-
ening medical condition that requires an immediate 
medical response regarding the heart or other 
cardiopulmonary functioning of the individual. 
‘‘(2) OTHER
DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 
this section: 
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‘‘(A) 
The 
term 
‘automated 
external 
defibrillator 
device’ 
or 
‘AED’ 
means 
a 
defibrillator device that— 
‘‘(i) is commercially distributed in ac-
cordance with the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act; 
‘‘(ii) is capable of recognizing the 
presence or absence of ventricular fibrilla-
tion, and is capable of determining without 
intervention by the user of the device 
whether defibrillation should be performed; 
‘‘(iii) upon determining that defibrilla-
tion should be performed, is able to deliver 
an electrical shock to an individual; and 
‘‘(iv) in the case of a defibrillator de-
vice that may be operated in either an 
automated or a manual mode, is set to op-
erate in the automated mode. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘cautionary signage’ means, 
with respect to an AED, any verbal or non- 
verbal markings or language purporting to limit 
use of the AED by members of the general pub-
lic or to permit use of the AED only by persons 
with specific skills, qualifications, or training. 
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‘‘(C)(i) The term ‘harm’ includes physical, 
nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses. 
‘‘(ii) The term ‘economic loss’ means any 
pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including 
the loss of earnings or other benefits related to 
employment, medical expense loss, replacement 
services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and 
loss of business or employment opportunities) 
to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed 
under applicable State law. 
‘‘(iii) The term ‘noneconomic losses’ means 
losses for physical and emotional pain, suf-
fering, 
inconvenience, 
physical 
impairment, 
mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoy-
ment of life, loss of society and companionship, 
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic 
service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation 
and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or 
nature.’’. 
Æ 
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