Will I be Sued if I use a Defibrillator or Have One on My Premises?

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) have made big news in the past few years. As discussed by the  Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, about 40,000 cardiac arrests occur in Canada annually, most of which are outside medical facilities.  The chances of survival decrease significantly (7-10%) with each passing minute. Defibrillation can improve these survival rates by 30% or more if conducted within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest.  In fact defibrillation combined with CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can increase survival rates to 50% or more.

With this increased publicity, comes increased concern of how this can affect the rescuer who uses the defibrillator or the organization who owns the defibrillator.  While defibrillators have become common in Public Access Areas in the United States, Canada has been more reticent in implementing defibrillators in our Public Access Areas.

With the Chase McEachern Act (Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability) of 2007, the Liberal government of Ontario has passed legislation that is hugely important to the question of defibrillators and their use.  This Act protects people from civil liability when they attempt to save a life using a public Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  It was based on the case of an 11 year old Barrie resident, Chase McEachern, who had been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.  At his young age, Chase began a campaign to make defibrillators mandatory in hockey arenas and schools.  Unfortunately, before he could succeed, Chase passed out while jogging in his gym class on Feb. 9, 2006.  All attempts to resuscitate him sadly failed.  The McEachern family created a fund to further Chase’s campaign.

The Chase McEachern Act (Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability) of 2007 completes this cycle and does the following:

1.  It protects any person from liability for damages that occur in relation to their use of an AED in the attempt to save a life at the immediate scene of an emergency (unless damages are caused by gross negligence)

2.  It protects health care professionals from liability for damages that occur in relation to their use of an AED to save a life at the immediate scene of an emergency (unless damages are caused by gross negligence and unless the AED is used in a hospital or other place having appropriate health care facilities and equipment for the purposes of defibrillation

3.  It protects owners and occupiers of premises on which an AED is installed from liability for any harm which may occur in relation to the use of the AED, provided that the AED was made available for use in good faith, without gross negligence and is properly maintained.

What does that mean for you or your company?  It means that both society and the government has recognized the importance of AEDs and is working actively not only to implement AEDs in Public Access Areas in Ontario but also to protect those individuals and companies that use and own AEDs.

by Shyamala Nathan-Turner