TITLE LII ACTIONS, PROCESS, AND SERVICE OF PROCESS
CHAPTER 508 LIMITATION OF ACTIONS
Section 508:17-a
508:17-a Agents Assisting Certain State Departments; Liability Limited. –
I. Any person who acts as an agent to the department of health and human services or the department of safety by providing assistance in response to a specific public health or public safety incident shall be protected from claims and civil actions arising from acts committed within the scope of his or her official duty as an agent to such departments to the same extent as state officers, trustees, officials, employees, and members of the general court under RSA 99-D, provided that:
(a) The commissioner of the department of health and human services or the commissioner of the department of safety has declared in writing to the governor that a public health or public safety incident exists;
(b) The department of health and human services or the department of safety has designated the person to act as its agent to assist in responding to the public health or public safety incident;
(c) The agent was acting in good faith and within the scope of his or her official functions and duties as an agent to the department of health and human services or the department of safety; and
(d) The damage or injury was not caused by willful, wanton, or grossly negligent misconduct by the agent.
II. In this section:
(a) "Agent" means any person who acts as an agent to the department of health and human services or the department of safety by providing assistance in response to a specific public health or public safety incident and the person does not receive compensation from either department, other than possible reimbursement for expenses actually incurred for such services, but who may be receiving compensation from his or her employer or from any other source.
(b) "Damage or injury" includes physical, nonphysical, economic and noneconomic damage, and property damage.
(c) "Public health or public safety incident" means a specific incident that the commissioner of the department of health and human services or the commissioner of the department of safety has declared in writing poses a threat to the health and safety of the public and demands a response that will require the assistance of agents from outside the state system, but which does not rise to the level that would necessitate the declaration of a state of emergency by the governor under RSA 4:45.
II-a. For purposes of immunity and exemption, any declared public health or public safety incident shall be considered an emergency management function under RSA 21-P:41, I-II.
III. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be considered an agent of the department of health and human services or the department of safety for the purposes of this section unless the commissioner of one of those 2 departments has declared in writing to the governor that a public health or public safety incident exists and the appropriate department acknowledges in writing the person's status as an agent. Such written acknowledgment shall identify the person, indicate the department of the state for which the person will be acting as an agent, indicate the duration for which the person will be acting as an agent, indicate the functions that the person will be performing for the appropriate department, and specifically indicate that the provisions of this section apply to the person's status as an agent to the appropriate department.
IV. Any licensed health care provider who acts as an agent to the department of health and human services by providing health care or services in response to a public health incident shall work under the oversight of a department physician.
V. No disciplinary action shall be taken by a licensing board against a licensed health care provider who acted as an agent or a volunteer to the department of health and human services or the department of safety. This paragraph shall apply only to a health care provider who was designated by either the department of health and human services or the department of safety to act as an agent in accordance with paragraph III and who acted in good faith within the scope of his or her official functions and duties as an agent, and who did not engage in willful, wanton, or grossly negligent conduct in the course of carrying out his or her official functions and duties.
Source. 2005, 191:5. 2008, 336:5, eff. July 7, 2008.