Sponsors (10)
The bill aims to increase AED availability and encourage life‑saving bystander use through federal liability protections and clearer rules, but it does so at the cost of narrowing injured individuals' ability to recover damages and shifting some risks and costs onto victims, insurers, owners, or taxpayers.
People at risk of sudden cardiac arrest (seniors, people with chronic conditions, people with disabilities, and the general public) are more likely to survive because the bill encourages wider deployment and use of AEDs in public places and workplaces.
Bystanders and emergency responders (including parents and young adults) are protected from civil liability when they use or attempt to use an AED in good faith, making people more likely to intervene quickly in emergencies.
Owners and operators (small businesses, local governments, hospitals) face lower legal risk and potentially lower costs to acquire and place AEDs because the bill limits liability in many covered circumstances.
Individuals injured by AED use (including people with chronic conditions and low-income victims) will have a reduced ability to recover damages because the bill creates federal immunity and can preempt stronger state liability rules.
Federal preemption of state law can prevent state courts from holding owners or manufacturers liable in situations where federal immunity applies, narrowing legal remedies for injured parties.
Expanding liability protections may shift the costs of negligence or improper AED use/placement onto victims, insurers, or taxpayers rather than to negligent parties.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal baseline immunity for AED users, premises managers, and AED owners while conditioning owner immunity on proper maintenance and adding affirmative conditions for protection.
Official title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to clarify liability protections regarding emergency use of automated external defibrillators.
Introduced February 21, 2025 by Scott Franklin · Last progress February 21, 2025
Creates a national, uniform civil‑liability shield for people who use, attempt to use, or provide access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) during a perceived medical emergency. It revises existing federal law to define protected categories (good Samaritans, premises owners/managers, and AED owner‑acquirers), adds affirmative conditions that support immunity (registration, signage compliance, training, assisted use), narrows certain protections for AED owners by conditioning immunity on proper maintenance, and preserves existing exceptions and other federal liability protections. The change is designed to reduce legal uncertainty across states, encourage wider AED placement and use, and save lives by lowering liability concerns that can inhibit AED acquisition and deployment.