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![handle is hein.crs/crsajaf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22255
Updated September 19, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Emergency Response: Civil Liability of
Volunteer Health Professionals
Kathleen Swendiman and Nathan Brooks
Legislative Attorneys
American Law Division
Summary
The devastation wrought on the Gulf Region by Hurricane Katrina has triggered
a massive relief effort by local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as private
organizations and individuals. Much of the relief effort will be carried out by unpaid
volunteers, and some have questioned whether such volunteers - particularly medical
personnel, so-called volunteer health professionals (VHPs) - will be protected from
potential civil liability in carrying out their duties. This report sketches the various
federal and state liability protections available to VHPs responding to disasters
generally, with a focus on the protections applicable to the Hurricane Katrina response.
Introduction. As volunteers pour into the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina,
some have raised questions as to the potential civil liability of those volunteer health
professionals (VHPs) - individual licensed medical professionals who gratuitously
provide medical services - who respond to the Gulf Region's clear need for medical
skills and services. The concern is that the specter of medical malpractice liability, in
particular, may give pause to these VHPs.
What follows is a discussion of the patchwork of federal and state laws' that operate
to protect VHPs in certain situations - with a focus on the Gulf Region, which was
hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Whether a VHP is protected from civil liability depends
on a number of factors, including under whose control the VHP operates and whether or
not a state of emergency has been declared. The liability protections discussed in this
report generally shield volunteers from civil liability for negligent conduct, i.e., actions,
or failures to act, that result in injuries or losses to others. Criminal conduct - or willful,
intentional, or grossly negligent conduct - is not protected, unless otherwise noted.
1 Various commentators have offered suggestions for creating an across-the board standard
governing VHP liability in disaster situations. See, e.g., James J. Hodge, Jr., Lance A. Gable, and
Stephanie H. Calves, Volunteer Health Professionals and Emergencies: Assessing and
Transforming the Legal Enviornment, 3 Biosecurity and Bioterrorism 216 (2005), available at
[http://www.biosecurityjournal.com/BSBT33.pdf].
Congressional Research Service 4- The Library of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsajaf0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)