TITLE 51 TORTS

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

51-1-29.4. Liability of voluntary health care providers and sponsoring organizations; cumulative immunity; application.

1. As used in this Code section, the term:
   1. "Free health clinic" means a nonprofit, charitable, or eleemosynary institution or organization which voluntarily and without expectation or receipt of payment or other compensation or financial benefit provides health care services to persons who do not qualify for medicare or Medicaid, have no private health insurance, and cannot afford to see a medical care professional.
   2. "Medical care professional" means a professional who is licensed under Chapter 4 of Title 26 or Chapter 9, 11, 11A, 26, 30, 33, 34, or 44 of Title 43.
2. 1. A free health clinic and its agents, employees, and volunteers when acting within the scope of that relationship shall not be liable to a patient for ordinary negligence which proximately causes injury to or the death of that patient if the services provided to that patient were free of any charge and the free health clinic and the medical care professional whose services are at issue neither received nor expected to receive any payment or other compensation or financial benefit for providing care to that patient.
   2. A licensed hospital, public school, or nonprofit organization which requests, sponsors, or participates in providing the services of a free health clinic shall not be liable to a patient for ordinary negligence which proximately causes injury to or the death of that patient if the services requested, sponsored, or provided to that patient were free of any charge and the free health clinic, the medical care professional whose services are at issue, the licensed hospital, the public school, or the nonprofit organization did not receive or expect to receive any payment or other compensation or financial benefit for providing care to that patient.
   3. The immunity granted under this Code section shall not waive or affect and is cumulative of any existing immunity from any other source.
3. This Code section shall apply only to causes of action arising on or after July 1, 2004.

(Code 1981, §51-1-29.4, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 446, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 51/HB 95.)