On Thursday, the Alabama Senate passed legislation to ensure that emergency medical service (EMS) personnel are treated similarly to doctors and nurses in the Alabama courts regarding Alabama’s medical liability laws.
Senate Bill 96 (SB96) is sponsored by State Senator Sam Givhan.
Senator Givhan explained that SB96 addresses the definition of healthcare provider under the Alabama Medical Liability Act of 1996 and would give emergency services personnel the “same protections for our doctors, nurses, and optometrists” under Alabama’s civil liability laws.
“These people are making split-second decisions,” Givhan said.
According to the synopsis, “This bill would amend the Alabama Medical Liability Act of 1996 to provide that the term “health care provider” as used in that act and the Alabama Medical Liability Act of 1987 would include emergency medical services personnel and any emergency medical provider service.”
SB96 passed the Senate 30 to 0.
Alabama has a shortage of EMS personnel, and many areas struggle to maintain EMS service. In most cases, EMS personnel are the first medical professionals on the scene when an Alabamian, particularly in rural Alabama, has a medical emergency. Getting that person stabilized and transported to a hospital quickly is often the difference between life and death. The COVID-19 global pandemic only made the state’s shortage of EMTs more severe as many paramedics left the field. Some EMTs died from COVID-19. By 2021, there were reports that North Alabama had a thirty percent shortage of EMTs, resulting in citizens needing to wait longer for an ambulance, and EMTs in the field working overtime shifts due to the lack of workers.
Sam Givhan represents Alabama Senate District 7 in Madison County. Givhan is a Republican in his second term in the Alabama Senate. He is an attorney with degrees from Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law.
SB96 now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives for their consideration. The bill has been assigned to the House Health Committee.
Tuesday will be day 8 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.
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