Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2025

Encouragement of AED Deployment: By establishing a nationally uniform baseline of protection, the bill intends to encourage the deployment of additional AEDs to save lives that might otherwise be lost to cardiac arrest (Section 2).

Protection for Individuals Using AEDs: Persons who use or attempt to use an AED on a victim of a perceived medical emergency are granted immunity from civil liability for resulting harm, provided they are not the owner-acquirer of the device (Section 3(a)).

Protection for Property Owners and Managers: People who own, occupy, or manage the premises where an AED is used or taken from are immune from civil liability (Section 3(b)).

Protection for Device Owners: Owners or acquirers of AEDs are protected from civil liability for harm resulting from the use or attempted use of the device, unless the harm was caused by a failure to properly maintain it according to manufacturer guidelines (Section 3(c)).

Consistency Across State Lines: The bill aims to resolve concerns for entities that operate in multiple states by providing a uniform standard that preempts inconsistent State laws (Section 2 and Section 3(f)).

Loss of Immunity for Maintenance Failures: An owner-acquirer of an AED is not protected from liability if the harm was proximately caused by their failure to properly maintain the device according to manufacturer guidelines (Section 3(c)).

Exceptions for Misconduct: Immunity does not apply to individuals whose harm was proximately caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the victim (Section 3(e)).

No Immunity for Licensed Health Professionals: Licensed or certified health professionals acting within the scope of their employment or agency are not covered by this immunity (Section 3(e)).

No Immunity for Certain Healthcare Entities: Hospitals, clinics, or other healthcare-providing entities are not covered if the harm was caused by an employee or agent acting within the scope of their employment or agency (Section 3(e)).

No Immunity for Leased Device Providers: An owner-acquirer who leased an AED to a healthcare entity for compensation is not protected if the harm was caused by an employee or agent of that entity acting within their scope of employment (Section 3(e)).