42 U.S.C. § 14503 — Limitation on liability for volunteers

Page 8641 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 14503 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act [enacting this chapter] shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [June 18, 1997]. ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—This Act applies to any claim for harm caused by an act or omission of a volunteer where that claim is filed on or after the effective date of this Act but only if the harm that is the subject of the claim or the conduct that caused such harm occurred after such effective date.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 105–19, § 1, June 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 218, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Volunteer Protection Act of 1997’.’’ § 14502. Preemption and election of State non- applicability (a) Preemption This chapter preempts the laws of any State to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with this chapter, except that this chapter shall not preempt any State law that provides addi- tional protection from liability relating to vol- unteers or to any category of volunteers in the performance of services for a nonprofit organiza- tion or governmental entity. (b) Election of State regarding nonapplicability This chapter shall not apply to any civil ac- tion in a State court against a volunteer in which all parties are citizens of the State if such State enacts a statute in accordance with State requirements for enacting legislation— (1) citing the authority of this subsection; (2) declaring the election of such State that this chapter shall not apply, as of a date cer- tain, to such civil action in the State; and (3) containing no other provisions. (Pub. L. 105–19, § 3, June 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 219.) § 14503. Limitation on liability for volunteers (a) Liability protection for volunteers Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (e), no volunteer of a nonprofit organization or governmental entity shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity if— (1) the volunteer was acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities in the non- profit organization or governmental entity at the time of the act or omission; (2) if appropriate or required, the volunteer was properly licensed, certified, or authorized by the appropriate authorities for the activi- ties or practice in the State in which the harm occurred, where the activities were or practice was undertaken within the scope of the volun- teer’s responsibilities in the nonprofit organi- zation or governmental entity; (3) the harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reck- less misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indif- ference to the rights or safety of the indi- vidual harmed by the volunteer; and (4) the harm was not caused by the volunteer operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle for which the State requires the operator or the owner of the vehicle, craft, or vessel to— (A) possess an operator’s license; or (B) maintain insurance. (b) Liability protection for pilots that fly for pub- lic benefit Except as provided in subsections (c) and (e), no volunteer of a volunteer pilot nonprofit orga- nization that arranges flights for public benefit shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of the orga- nization if, at the time of the act or omission, the volunteer— (1) was operating an aircraft in furtherance of the purpose of, and acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities on behalf of, the nonprofit organization to provide patient and medical transport (including medical transport for veterans), disaster relief, human- itarian assistance, or other similar charitable missions; (2) was properly licensed and insured for the operation of the aircraft; (3) was in compliance with all requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration for re- cent flight experience; and (4) did not cause the harm through willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reck- less misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indif- ference to the rights or safety of the indi- vidual harmed by the volunteer. (c) Concerning responsibility of volunteers to or- ganizations and entities Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any civil action brought by any nonprofit organization or any governmental entity against any volunteer of such organization or entity. (d) No effect on liability of organization or entity Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the liability of any nonprofit organization or governmental entity with respect to harm caused to any person. (e) Exceptions to volunteer liability protection If the laws of a State limit volunteer liability subject to one or more of the following condi- tions, such conditions shall not be construed as inconsistent with this section: (1) A State law that requires a nonprofit or- ganization or governmental entity to adhere to risk management procedures, including mandatory training of volunteers. (2) A State law that makes the organization or entity liable for the acts or omissions of its volunteers to the same extent as an employer is liable for the acts or omissions of its em- ployees. (3) A State law that makes a limitation of li- ability inapplicable if the civil action was brought by an officer of a State or local gov- ernment pursuant to State or local law. (4) A State law that makes a limitation of li- ability applicable only if the nonprofit organi- zation or governmental entity provides a fi- nancially secure source of recovery for indi- viduals who suffer harm as a result of actions taken by a volunteer on behalf of the organi- zation or entity. A financially secure source of recovery may be an insurance policy within specified limits, comparable coverage from a risk pooling mechanism, equivalent assets, or alternative arrangements that satisfy the State that the organization or entity will be Page 8642 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 14504 1 See References in Text note below. able to pay for losses up to a specified amount. Separate standards for different types of li- ability exposure may be specified. (f) Limitation on punitive damages based on ac- tions of volunteers (1) General rule Punitive damages may not be awarded against a volunteer in an action brought for harm based on the action of a volunteer acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibil- ities to a nonprofit organization or govern- mental entity unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm was proximately caused by an action of such volunteer which constitutes willful or criminal misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the indi- vidual harmed. (2) Construction Paragraph (1) does not create a cause of ac- tion for punitive damages and does not pre- empt or supersede any Federal or State law to the extent that such law would further limit the award of punitive damages. (g) Exceptions to limitations on liability (1) In general The limitations on the liability of a volun- teer under this chapter shall not apply to any misconduct that— (A) constitutes a crime of violence (as that term is defined in section 16 of title 18) or act of international terrorism (as that term is defined in section 2331 of title 18) for which the defendant has been convicted in any court; (B) constitutes a hate crime (as that term is used in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note)); 1 (C) involves a sexual offense, as defined by applicable State law, for which the defend- ant has been convicted in any court; (D) involves misconduct for which the de- fendant has been found to have violated a Federal or State civil rights law; or (E) where the defendant was under the in- fluence (as determined pursuant to applica- ble State law) of intoxicating alcohol or any drug at the time of the misconduct. (2) Rule of construction Nothing in this subsection shall be con- strued to effect subsection (a)(3) or (f). (Pub. L. 105–19, § 4, June 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 219; Pub. L. 115–254, div. B, title V, § 584, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3399.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Hate Crime Statistics Act, referred to in subsec. (g)(1)(B), is Pub. L. 101–275, Apr. 23, 1990, 104 Stat. 140, which was set out as a note under section 534 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification as section 41305 of Title 34, Crime Con- trol and Law Enforcement, and as provisions set out as a note under section 41305 of Title 34. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(2), in introduc- tory provisions, substituted ‘‘subsections (b), (c), and (e)’’ for ‘‘subsections (b) and (d)’’. Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(1), (3), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) to (f) as (c) to (g), respectively. Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 115–254, § 584(4), substituted ‘‘(f)’’ for ‘‘(e)’’. § 14504. Liability for noneconomic loss (a) General rule In any civil action against a volunteer, based on an action of a volunteer acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities to a nonprofit organization or governmental entity, the liability of the volunteer for noneconomic loss shall be determined in accordance with sub- section (b). (b) Amount of liability (1) In general Each defendant who is a volunteer, shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct pro- portion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant (determined in accordance with paragraph (2)) for the harm to the claimant with respect to which that defendant is liable. The court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an amount deter- mined pursuant to the preceding sentence. (2) Percentage of responsibility For purposes of determining the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to a defendant who is a volunteer under this section, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage of respon- sibility of that defendant for the claimant’s harm. (Pub. L. 105–19, § 5, June 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 221.) § 14505. Definitions For purposes of this chapter: (1) Economic loss The term ‘‘economic loss’’ means any pecu- niary loss resulting from harm (including the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, medical expense loss, replace- ment services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or employment op- portunities) to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under applicable State law. (2) Harm The term ‘‘harm’’ includes physical, non- physical, economic, and noneconomic losses. (3) Noneconomic losses The term ‘‘noneconomic losses’’ means losses for physical and emotional pain, suf- fering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoy- ment of life, loss of society and companion- ship, loss of consortium (other than loss of do- mestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. (4) Nonprofit organization The term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means—