Posted on 01/04/2007

January 4, 2007--Current AED laws impede the deployment of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and do not protect all AED program participants from liability, according to Richard A. Lazar, Esq., a leading expert in AED program design and operations, risk management, law and public policy. According to Lazar, who serves as a member of the SCA Foundation Board of Directors, many state AED laws discourage bystander action and increase liability risks--despite the intentions of their authors. The SCA Foundation has endorsed Lazar's views.

To address the “complex quagmire” of current state laws, Lazar proposes model AED and 9-1-1 legislation. The “AED Good Samaritan Immunity Modernization Act” would provide easy-to-understand immunity to all AED program participants and remove burdensome and complex immunity conditions. “The Lifesaving AED Location Emergency Communications Act” would require AED acquirers to report the location of devices to 9-1-1 dispatch agencies and would require 9-1-1 dispatch agencies to receive AED location information and make it immediately available to 9-1-1 callers.

To download Lazar’s proposal, Legislative Strategies for Modernizing U.S. AED Laws, click here.

For more information, see www.AEDRiskInsights.com or contact Lazar at rlazar [at] AEDRiskInsights.com.

For information about AED laws, see http://www.sca-aware.org/sca-resources/aed-laws.

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