New Arizona Law Limits Liability of Emergency Workers

A bill signed into law this week will build the state's volunteer emergency worker ranks to better respond to a disaster, said the bill's sponsor, Yuma state Rep. Amanda Aguirre.

Aguirre said House Bill 2599, signed Monday by Gov. Janet Napolitano, will help the recruiting of retired doctors and other volunteers for help in a large-scale disaster because it limits their liability.

"This will just add more people that can help in the case of a disaster," she said.

The bill grants emergency workers the same workers' compensation benefits and immunity from liability that apply to law enforcement officers and local and state employees who respond to an emergency. Aguirre said the bill shows that Arizona has learned lessons from the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Aguirre said before the bill was in place, retired medical health professionals were hesitant to be included on emergency preparedness lists because they were not protected from lawsuits. She said this new bill strengthens some of the protections that were already offered by the Good Samaritan Law.

"The Arizona volunteer citizen corps council are very much looking forward to starting to recruit more volunteers," Aguirre said.

Local laws on emergency worker liability differ across the state, Aguirre said. In Yuma, things are not expected to change much for emergency agencies.

Gary August, vice president of Rural/Metro western Arizona operations, said the new law would not affect Rural/Metro's fire and ambulance services.

"It's more for the volunteers," he said.

All Rural/Metro paramedics are already covered while on shift, and, in the event of a disaster, are covered by the Good Samaritan Law, August said.

Many Yumans have become CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trained through classes provided at the Yuma Fire Department, local recreational vehicle parks and schools. A dozen members of the Kofa High School faculty and staff are working to become the state's first CERT team on a high school campus.

Joni Mott, citywide CERT coordinator, said that the city of Yuma already covers its volunteers.

"It's different for different cities," she said. "For our city, they're protected."

According to the bill, an emergency worker now means any person who is registered, whether temporary or permanent, paid or volunteer, with a local state or emergency management organization and certified by the local or state emergency management organization. Emergency workers are covered for all types of emergencies -- from search-and-rescue operations to hazardous material spills.

The law requires the state to provide liability coverage and legal defense to emergency workers who act within the scope of their assigned duties. Aguirre said workers' compensation benefits are provided up to a certain level.

The law does not protect emergency workers in cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence or bad faith.

Aguirre said other states were already using this bill as a model and drafting similar legislation.

"I think it is a pivotal piece of legislation to the medical reserve corps," said Bill Carrell, co-chairman of the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona, in a news release. "Without it, we are unable to recruit and train health-care professionals to respond in an organized fashion in event of a disaster. Hopefully, we can avoid the pitfalls of a Katrina."

The bill directs the Division of Emergency Management within the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to prescribe the procedures for the registration of emergency workers. Aguirre said work has already begun on creating a statewide registry of volunteers.

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