By Duncan S.B. No. 215
76R1733 DAK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the liability of certain health care providers.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 84.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
1-5 is amended by amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivision (5)
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 (2) "Volunteer" means a person rendering services for
1-8 or on behalf of a charitable organization who does not receive
1-9 compensation in excess of reimbursement for expenses incurred. The
1-10 [, and such] term includes a person serving as a director, officer,
1-11 trustee, or direct service volunteer, including a volunteer health
1-12 care provider.
1-13 (5) "Volunteer health care provider" means an
1-14 individual who voluntarily provides health care services without
1-15 compensation or expectation of compensation and who is:
1-16 (A) an individual who is licensed to practice
1-17 medicine under the Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's
1-18 Texas Civil Statutes);
1-19 (B) a retired physician who is eligible to
1-20 provide health care services, including a retired physician who is
1-21 licensed but exempt from paying the required annual registration
1-22 fee under Section 3.01(g), Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
1-23 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
1-24 (C) a physician assistant licensed under the
2-1 Physician Assistant Licensing Act (Article 4495b-1, Vernon's Texas
2-2 Civil Statutes) or a retired physician assistant who is eligible to
2-3 provide health care services under the law of this state;
2-4 (D) a registered nurse licensed under Chapter 7,
2-5 Title 71, Revised Statutes, or a retired registered nurse who is
2-6 eligible to provide health care services under the law of this
2-7 state;
2-8 (E) a licensed vocational nurse licensed under
2-9 Chapter 118, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1951
2-10 (Article 4528c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a retired
2-11 licensed vocational nurse who is eligible to provide health care
2-12 services under the law of this state;
2-13 (F) a pharmacist licensed under the Texas
2-14 Pharmacy Act (Article 4542a-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) or a
2-15 retired pharmacist who is eligible to provide health care services
2-16 under the law of this state;
2-17 (G) a podiatrist licensed under Chapter 11,
2-18 Title 71, Revised Statutes, or a retired podiatrist who is eligible
2-19 to provide health care services under the law of this state; or
2-20 (H) a dentist licensed under the Dental Practice
2-21 Act (Chapter 9, Title 71, Revised Statutes) or a retired dentist
2-22 who is eligible to provide health care services under the law of
2-23 this state.
2-24 SECTION 2. Section 84.004, Civil Practice and Remedies
2-25 Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-26 Sec. 84.004. VOLUNTEER LIABILITY. (a) Except as provided
2-27 by Subsection (d) [(c) of this section] and Section 84.007 [of this
3-1 Act], a volunteer who is serving as an officer, director, or
3-2 trustee of a charitable organization is immune from civil liability
3-3 for any act or omission resulting in death, damage, or injury if
3-4 the volunteer was acting in the course and scope of his duties or
3-5 functions as an officer, director, or trustee within the
3-6 organization.
3-7 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d) [of this
3-8 section] and Section 84.007 [of this Act], a volunteer who is
3-9 serving as a direct service volunteer of a charitable organization
3-10 is immune from civil liability for any act or omission resulting in
3-11 death, damage, or injury if the volunteer was acting in good faith
3-12 and in the course and scope of his duties or functions within the
3-13 organization.
3-14 (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) and Section 84.007,
3-15 a volunteer health care provider who is serving as a direct service
3-16 volunteer of a charitable organization is immune from civil
3-17 liability for any act or omission resulting in death, damage, or
3-18 injury to a patient if:
3-19 (1) the volunteer was acting in good faith and in the
3-20 course and scope of the volunteer's duties or functions within the
3-21 organization;
3-22 (2) the volunteer commits the act or omission in the
3-23 course of providing health care services to the patient;
3-24 (3) the services provided are within the scope of the
3-25 license of the volunteer; and
3-26 (4) the patient or, if the patient is a minor or is
3-27 otherwise legally incompetent, the patient's parent, managing
4-1 conservator, legal guardian, or other person with legal
4-2 responsibility for the care of the patient signs a written
4-3 statement that:
4-4 (A) acknowledges that the volunteer is providing
4-5 care that is not administered for or in expectation of
4-6 compensation; and
4-7 (B) waives the right to recover damages from the
4-8 volunteer in exchange for receiving the uncompensated services.
4-9 (d) A volunteer of a charitable organization is liable to a
4-10 person for death, damage, or injury to the person or his property
4-11 proximately caused by any act or omission arising from the
4-12 operation or use of any motor-driven equipment, including an
4-13 airplane, to the extent insurance coverage is required by Chapter
4-14 601, Transportation Code, and to the extent of any existing
4-15 insurance coverage applicable to the act or omission.
4-16 (e) [(d)] The provisions of this section apply only to the
4-17 liability of volunteers and do not apply to the liability of the
4-18 organization for acts or omissions of volunteers.
4-19 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
4-20 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
4-21 date. An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act
4-22 is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
4-23 effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
4-24 that purpose.
4-25 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.