§ 37:1731 — Gratuitous service at scene of emergency; emergency care at hospitals; limitation of

Louisiana § 37:1731

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 37: Professions and Occupations

Text

§1731. Gratuitous service at scene of emergency; emergency care at hospitals; limitation of
liability
A.(1) A physician, surgeon, or physician assistant licensed under the provisions of
Chapter 15 of this Title, his professional medical corporation chartered under the provisions
of R.S. 12:901 et seq., or his limited liability company, or a nurse licensed under the
provisions of Chapter 11 of this Title who in good faith gratuitously renders emergency care
or services at the scene of an emergency, to a person in need thereof shall not be liable for
any civil damages as a result of any act or omission in rendering such care or services or as
a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care
for the person involved in said emergency, unless the damage or injury was caused by willful
or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(2)(a) A physician, on-call physician, or surgeon or oral and maxillofacial surgeon,
or his professional medical or dental corporation or limited liability company or nurse,
licensed or qualified as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or an intern, or resident
of a public or private hospital or other medical healthcare facility licensed in this state, who
in good faith responds to an imminent life-threatening situation or emergency within the
hospital or facility and whose actual duty in the hospital or facility did not require a response
to an emergency situation shall not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or
omission in rendering the emergency care or service or from failure to provide or arrange for
further medical care or treatment of the person involved, unless the damage or injury was
caused by willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(b) The limitation of liability provided in Subparagraph (2)(a) of this Subsection
shall not apply when, prior to the advent of the imminent life-threatening situation or
emergency, the physician or surgeon or his professional medical corporation or limited
liability company was a contemporaneously attending or consulting physician or surgeon to
the person involved or when the nurse was a contemporaneously attending nurse to the
person involved.
(c) An on-call physician or oral and maxillofacial surgeon who gratuitously attends,
assists, or treats a patient who comes into an emergency room or department, including any
appropriate standard of care treatment necessitated by the patient's emergent condition, shall
not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in rendering the emergency
care or service to a patient, with whom there has been no prior physician-patient relationship
or from failure to provide or arrange for further medical care or treatment to such patient
unless the damage or injury was caused by willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.
(d) For purposes of this Subsection, "on-call physician" means a physician, or oral
and maxillofacial surgeon or his professional medical or dental corporation or limited
liability company, who is not primarily employed or contracted by the hospital or other
licensed medical healthcare facility to treat emergency room or department patients, but
whose actual duties may include treating emergency room or department patients due to the
requirements of 42 CFR 489.24 or R.S. 40:2113.4 to respond to the emergency room or
department on an on-call basis and as a condition of the privilege or ability to practice his
profession within the hospital or facility.
B. Any physician, surgeon, or member of the medical profession who is not licensed
to practice medicine in Louisiana but who holds a valid license to practice medicine in any
other state of the United States who gratuitously renders care or services at the scene of an
emergency as herein provided shall not be charged with violation of the Louisiana Medical
Practice Act.
C. No veterinarian licensed under the provisions of Chapter 18 of this Title, who in
good faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services or assistance at the scene of an
emergency to an animal or animals in need thereof, shall be liable for any civil damages as
a result of any act or omission by such person in rendering the care or services or assistance,
or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further veterinary medical
treatment or care for the animal involved in the said emergency.
D. No dentist licensed under the provisions of Chapter 9 of this Title, who in good
faith gratuitously renders emergency care or services at the scene of an emergency, except
in a licensed dentist office or public or private hospital, to a person or persons in need thereof
shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by such person in
rendering the care or services or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange
for further dental care or treatment or care for the person involved in the emergency.
E.(1) No emergency medical technician who in good faith gratuitously renders
emergency care or services at the scene of an emergency to a person or persons in need
thereof shall be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission in rendering
the care or services or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further
medical treatment or care for the person involved in the emergency.
(2) For purposes of this Section, "emergency medical technician" means a certified
first responder as defined in R.S. 40:1231(10) and a certified emergency medical technician
as defined in R.S. 40:1231(3), (4), or (5).

Legislative History

Acts 1964, No. 46, §1; Acts 1989, No. 347, §1; Acts 1990, No. 148, §1; Acts 1993, No. 618, §1; Acts 1997, No. 316, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1105, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 1033, §1; Acts 2018, No. 206, §3.