More than 19,000 Texans die of a heart attack outside of hospitals each year. Some of those people could have been saved if their heart was restarted within moments of cardiac arrest. The law expands the so-called Good Samaritan law to provide civil immunity for those who use a defibrillator in an emergency, provided they are properly trained.
The user of the defibrillator must receive training given or approved by the Texas Department of Health. A licensed physician must also be involved in the cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillator training. The defibrillator must be maintained and tested in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Also, a person or entity that uses a defibrillator on someone in cardiac arrest must contact the local emergency medical service and notify them of use of the defibrillator.
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