§ 32.1-38 — Immunity from liability

Virginia § 32.1-38

• Jurisdiction: Virginia
• Title 32.1: HEALTH
• Ch. 2: DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
• Art. 1: REPORTING OF DISEASES

Text

Any person making a report or disclosure required or authorized by this chapter, including any voluntary reports submitted at the request of the Department of Health for special surveillance or other epidemiological studies, shall be immune from civil liability or criminal penalty connected therewith unless such person acted with gross negligence or malicious intent. Further, except for such reporting requirements as may be established in this chapter or by any regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, there shall be no duty on the part of any blood collection agency or tissue bank to notify any other person of any reported test results, and a cause of action shall not arise from any failure by such entities to notify others. Neither the Commissioner nor any local health director shall disclose to the public the name of any person reported or the name of any person making a report pursuant to this chapter. No person making a report required or authorized by this chapter shall be responsible for recognizing agents or suspecting the presence of any conditions beyond the competence of a reasonable person practicing his profession; however, any such person shall be immune as provided in this section when making reports in good faith without gross negligence and within the usual scope of his practice.

Legislative History

Code 1950, § 32-48; 1976, c. 628; 1979, c. 711; 1988, c. 130; 1990, c. 777; 1997, c. 271; 2002, c. 768.