Blunt limits lawsuits against people helping during emergencies

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt on Friday signed into law new legal protections for doctors, health care providers and volunteers who help during state emergencies.

The measure bars most lawsuits and administrative penalties against licensed caregivers who are deployed in Missouri during officially declared emergencies. It would still permit penalties for injuries caused by "willful and "wanton" mistakes.

Blunt signed the new provisions at a St. Louis hospital. They take effect immediately. In a written statement, he said the law will help the state better respond to emergencies.

"Health care professionals who offer their time and expertise to help our neighbors during an emergency should not fear frivolous lawsuits," Blunt said.

The measure also allows the Department of Health and Senior Services to train volunteers to hand out medicine, such as flu vaccines, if they are supervised by a health care professional. The volunteers would be protected by the state if they are sued.

A state trial lawyer group said it doesn't believe there have been any lawsuits against licensed providers helping those affected by an emergency.

"After (Hurricane) Katrina and some of the other major weather events that we've had, people have been concerned that we wouldn't be able to get health care providers to come in and volunteer," said Sharon Geuea Jones, the director of governmental relations for the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

Jones said the group's main concern was ensuring the restrictions only applied to emergency situations.

Aside from the legal protections, the bill also transfers responsibility for organizing the state emergency response from the Missouri National Guard to the Department of Public Safety. Coordination for the state efforts would remain with the State Emergency Management Agency.

Moving the emergency response agency was recommended by a special gubernatorial panel created two years ago to review state government.

The bill cleared the Legislature in the final days of the session with little dissent.

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Lawsuit limits is HB579.

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov

State Emergency Management Agency: http://sema.dps.mo.gov/semapage.htm