                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN FREE HEALTH CARE SERVICES (§ 32.1-127.3)

A. No hospital employee who renders health care services at his place of
employment and within the limits of his licensure, certification, or multistate
licensure privilege to practice nursing, or, if such employee is not required to
be licensed or certified pursuant to Title 54.1, within the scope of his
employment, shall be liable for any civil damages for any act or omission
resulting from the rendering of such services to a patient of a clinic which is
organized in whole or in part for the delivery of health care services without
charge unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful
misconduct. Such clinic shall have on record written agreements with each
hospital providing such services, and immunity shall apply only to those
services provided by the hospital without charge.

B. For the purposes of Article 5 (&#xA7; 2.2-1832 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of
Title 2.2, any personnel employed by a hospital licensed pursuant to this
article and rendering health care services pursuant to subsection A shall be
deemed an agent of the Commonwealth and to be acting in an authorized
governmental capacity with respect to delivery of such health care services if
(i) the hospital has agreed in writing to provide health care services at no
charge for patients referred by a clinic organized in whole or in part for the
delivery of health care services without charge, (ii) the employing hospital is
registered with the Division of Risk Management, and (iii) the employee
delivering such services has no legal or financial interest in the clinic from
which the patient is referred. The premium for coverage of such hospital
employees under the Risk Management Plan shall be paid by the Department of
Health.

C. The provisions of this section shall only apply to health care personnel
providing care pursuant to subsections A and B during the period in which such
care is rendered.

D. Moreover, no officer, director or employee of any such clinic, or the clinic
itself, as described in subsection A shall, in the absence of gross negligence
or willful misconduct, be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or
omission relating to the providing of health care services without charge to
patients of the clinic.

E. For the purposes of this section and Article 5 (&#xA7; 2.2-1832 et seq.) of
Chapter 18 of Title 2.2, &#8220;delivery of health care services without
charge&#8221; shall be deemed to include the delivery of dental or medical
services in a dental or medical clinic when a reasonable minimum fee is charged
to cover administrative costs.

HISTORY: 1993, c. 785; 1994, c. 444; 1996, c. 748; 2000, cc. 618, 632; 2004, c.
49.