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O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1 — Liability of voluntary health care provider and sponsoring organization | Georgia Code
O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1 (2018) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Scholar Amendments

TITLE 51 TORTS

Section 1. General Provisions, 51-1-1 through 51-1-55.

51-1-29.1. Liability of voluntary health care provider and sponsoring organization.

  1. Without waiving or affecting and cumulative of any existing immunity from any source, unless it is established that injuries or death were caused by gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct:
    1. No health care provider licensed under Chapter 9, 11, 26, 30, 33, or 34 of Title 43 who voluntarily and without the expectation or receipt of compensation provides professional services, within the scope of such health care provider's licensure, for and at the request of a hospital, public school, nonprofit organization, or an agency of the state or one of its political subdivisions or provides such professional services to a person at the request of such an organization, which organization does not expect or receive compensation with respect to such services from the recipient of such services; or
    2. No licensed hospital, public school, or nonprofit organization which requests, sponsors, or participates in the providing of the services under the circumstances provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection

      shall be liable for damages or injuries alleged to have been sustained by the person nor for damages for the injury or death of the person when the injuries or death are alleged to have occurred by reason of an act or omission in the rendering of such services.

  2. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to change the scope of practice of any health care provider granted immunity in this Code section.
  3. This Code section shall apply only to causes of action arising on or after July 1, 1987.

(Code 1981, §51-1-29.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 887, § 4; Ga. L. 1987, p. 986, § 2; Ga. L. 1998, p. 859, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 51; Ga. L. 2007, p. 47, § 51/SB 103.)

Code Commission notes.

- The enactment of this Code section by Ga. L. 1987, p. 887, § 4, irreconcilably conflicted with and was treated as superseded by Ga. L. 1987, p. 986, § 2. See County of Butts v. Strahan, 151 Ga. 417 (1921).

Law reviews.

- For article, "Torts," see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 441 (2001).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Prima facie case of immunity under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1 was established by a physician's affidavit that neither the physician's nor the physician's professional corporation expected or received any public or private source payment for the physician's on-call services. Washington v. Clark, 250 Ga. App. 242, 550 S.E.2d 671 (2001).

In a medical malpractice action, as affidavits from a decedent's mother and girlfriend created a fact issue regarding a doctor's expectation of payment which required resolution by a jury, the trial court erred in granting the doctor's summary judgment motion pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1. Travick v. Lee, 278 Ga. App. 823, 630 S.E.2d 99 (2006).

Summary judgment in favor of a doctor and a clinic for the post-op treatment of a patient was upheld on appeal, as: (1) both remained immune from suit under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1; (2) the doctor's treatment of the decedent's complications immediately following the decedent's surgery did not change the voluntary nature of the treatment as a whole; (3) it was reasonable to expect that a physician would continue to treat a patient following surgery; and (4) the appeals court viewed the doctor's voluntary treatment of the decedent as a whole, not divided into categories of preoperative, operative, and post-operative; moreover, because no evidence was presented that either the doctor or the clinic was a "charitable institution," and O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.1 provided no such exception, waiver of any common-law charitable immunity through the doctor's procurement of liability insurance did not apply. Wells v. Rogers, 281 Ga. App. 473, 636 S.E.2d 171 (2006), cert. denied, 2007 Ga. LEXIS 101 (Ga. 2007).

Cited in Walker v. Fulton-DeKalb Hosp. Auth., 200 Ga. App. 750, 409 S.E.2d 529 (1991); Porquez v. Washington, 268 Ga. 649, 492 S.E.2d 665 (1997); Washington v. Georgia Baptist Medical Ctr., 230 Ga. App. 654, 501 S.E.2d 1 (1998).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 65 C.J.S., Negligence, § 40. 65A C.J.S., Negligence, § 342.

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This Georgia Code resource is curated by Graham Syfert, a personal injury and workers' compensation attorney admitted in Georgia (State Bar of Georgia No. 881027, since 2006) and Florida. Attorney Syfert regularly works with Title 51 in the context of Georgia personal injury and tort claims and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida and South Georgia. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.