When someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest, the availability of an automated external defibrillator (AED) near them can make the difference between life and death. With that in mind, there are various laws in place within the District of Columbia addressing where these life-saving devices should be installed, how they should be maintained, and how they can and should be used by both medical professionals and members of the general public.
Understanding exactly what the laws on AEDs in Washington DC are can be crucial to ensure your own business or public organization is in compliance with the Code of the District of Columbia and to enforce your right to file a civil suit against someone who failed to follow those laws. Here is a brief overview of what is expected of DC property owners in this regard, as well as of what an experienced heart attack attorney can do to help you take legal action after an AED failure.
According to D.C. Code § 7-2371.02a, all recreation facilities operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation and staffed by at least one paid employee of the District government on a regular basis must have a minimum of one functioning, consistently tested, and properly maintained AED on site at all times. D.C. Code § 7-2371.02c imposes the same requirements on all public and private schools in the District, and most venues of any kind designed to have 1,000 or more occupants present at once must have AEDs on-site as well.
As per D.C. Code § 7-2371.02, all facilities subject to the AED requirements mentioned above must have a designated AED coordinator certified to operate and maintain AEDs by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or an equivalent organization. This same statute also requires anyone who provides emergency treatment to any other person with an AED to call 911 as soon as possible after using the defibrillator.
In the interest of encouraging both trained and untrained individuals to use AEDs in order to save the lives of people who experience unexpected cardiac arrest, D.C. Code § 7-2371.03 provides tort immunity to people who use AEDs. More specifically, this Good Samaritan Law prohibits people who experienced cardiac arrest—or, if applicable, their family members—from suing over injuries stemming from the heart attack or from the actions of someone administering treatment to them with an AED, so long as the person using the AED did so in good faith and without compensation.
However, this statute does not provide immunity to people in Washington, DC who cause harm through extreme negligence or willful or wanton misconduct in their application of an AED to someone experiencing cardiac arrest. Furthermore, it does not grant immunity to designers, manufacturers, and sellers of AEDs with dangerous defects that end up causing injury to people who use or receive treatment from those devices.
This is far from a comprehensive overview of the laws on AEDs in Washington DC that may apply during a heart attack lawsuit. That said, it should emphasize just how wide-reaching the AED requirements placed on certain organizations are, as well as what kinds of circumstances can potentially give rise to this kind of lawsuit in the first place.
If you have further questions about your legal options or want to start the litigation process, contacting Price Benowitz for a free case evaluation should be a top priority. Call today to get started.
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