Category: Alerts
On January 10, 2022, Virginia Governor Ralph
Northam issued Executive
Order Eighty-Four (“EO 84”)
declaring a state of emergency in response to the Omicron variant and its
strain on Virginia hospitals. Among
other things, EO 84 triggers the following immunity protections for health care
providers in Virginia:
·
Virginia
Code, § 8.01-225.01A—This confers on a health care provider immunity from civil
liability when the health care provider is unable to provide the requisite
health care to a patient, because the health care provider must voluntarily or mandatorily abandon the health care provider’s
practice to deliver health care to those injured by a disaster, such as those
injured by COVID-19. This immunity is
available only if that health care provider’s actions or omissions are “in the
absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct.”
·
Virginia
Code, § 8.01-225.02A—This provides a health care provider with immunity from
civil liability arising from delivering or withholding care when the health
care provider is unable to provide the normally required level or manner of
care because “the emergency [such as the COVID-19 disaster] and subsequent
conditions cause [...] a lack of resources, attributable to the disaster . . . .”
Here too, a health care provider’s
decision must not be with gross negligence or willful misconduct for this immunity
to apply.
Unless renewed by the Virginia Governor, EO 84 will no longer be in effect on February 11, 2022.
This is provided for general information
purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. Please contact your attorney for additional
information on this subject matter.
