                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY (§ 32.1-38)

Any person making a report or disclosure required or authorized by this chapter,
including any voluntary reports submitted at the request of the Department of
Health for special surveillance or other epidemiological studies, shall be
immune from civil liability or criminal penalty connected therewith unless such
person acted with gross negligence or malicious intent. Further, except for such
reporting requirements as may be established in this chapter or by any
regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, there shall be no duty on the part of
any blood collection agency or tissue bank to notify any other person of any
reported test results, and a cause of action shall not arise from any failure by
such entities to notify others. Neither the Commissioner nor any local health
director shall disclose to the public the name of any person reported or the
name of any person making a report pursuant to this chapter. No person making a
report required or authorized by this chapter shall be responsible for
recognizing agents or suspecting the presence of any conditions beyond the
competence of a reasonable person practicing his profession; however, any such
person shall be immune as provided in this section when making reports in good
faith without gross negligence and within the usual scope of his practice.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 32-48; 1976, c. 628; 1979, c. 711; 1988, c. 130; 1990, c.
777; 1997, c. 271; 2002, c. 768.