Louisiana Senate passes liability protections for disaster responders

The legislation meshes with national efforts to shield doctors from negligence claims during declared emergencies. Some attorneys say existing protections are enough.

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. June 2, 2008.

When disaster strikes, physicians want to be able to respond. But under such unusual circumstances, the usual standard of care may not apply.

To alleviate fears of having their medical judgment unfairly questioned, doctors are seeking to bolster state civil and criminal liability protections when they assist during officially declared emergencies.

Louisiana is the latest testing ground. In April and May, the Senate unanimously passed two bills proposing immunity from civil liability for in-state doctors and volunteers from out of state practicing in disaster zones. A third measure, which offers protection from criminal liability, is under House debate.

The effort grew out of a state committee of doctors, other health care professionals and community members that formed to advocate for the legislation.

The Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform evolved after former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr. arrested New Orleans otolaryngologist Anna Maria Pou, MD, and two nurses in July 2006. Foti alleged that they had murdered several patients with lethal doses of pain medications in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A grand jury dismissed the allegations last July. Dr. Pou and the nurses denied any wrongdoing.

"We said something has to come out of this, and we have to change the rules," said Dr. Pou's lawyer, Richard T. Simmons Jr., who helped draft the Louisiana legislation. For example, state Good Samaritan laws don't address catastrophic situations, he said. Yet in extreme emergencies, "doctors are forced to make a lot of decisions that are no-win, where there are no good solutions."