(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighters’ Assistance Act.”
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Authorized technician” means a technician who is certified by the manufacturer of fire control or fire rescue equipment as qualified to inspect that equipment. The technician may not be employed by the state agency or subdivision administering the distribution of the fire control or fire rescue equipment.
(b) “Qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment” means equipment used for fire control or fire rescue which has been recertified by an authorized technician as meeting the manufacturer’s specifications and which is distributed by or through a state agency or subdivision to a volunteer fire department.
(c) “State agency or subdivision” shall have the meaning provided in s. 768.28(2).
(3) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—A state agency or subdivision, including an officer, employee, or agent thereof, who is acting within the scope of his or her employment or function, which donates qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire department is not liable for civil damages under any state law for personal injury, property damage, or death proximately caused after the donation by a defect in the equipment.
(4) EXCEPTIONS TO LIABILITY PROTECTION.—Subsection (3) does not apply to a state agency or subdivision, or an officer, employee, or agent thereof, if:
(a) The defect that proximately caused the personal injury, property damage, or death resulted from:
1. An act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the state agency or subdivision which constitutes malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
2. A modification or alteration of the qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment by the state agency or subdivision, or by an officer, employee, or agent thereof, after the equipment was recertified by an authorized technician as meeting the manufacturer’s specifications.
(b) The state agency or subdivision is the manufacturer of the qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2004-368.
Structure Florida Statutes
Part I - General Provisions (Ss. 768.041-768.39)
768.041 - Release or covenant not to sue.
768.0415 - Liability for injury to parent.
768.043 - Remittitur and additur actions arising out of operation of motor vehicles.
768.07 - Railroad liability for injury to employees.
768.0705 - Limitation on premises liability.
768.075 - Immunity from liability for injury to trespassers on real property.
768.0755 - Premises liability for transitory foreign substances in a business establishment.
768.0895 - Limitation of liability for employers of persons with disabilities.
768.091 - Employer liability limits; ridesharing.
768.092 - Special mobile equipment; liability of lessors.
768.093 - Owner liability limits; powered shopping carts.
768.096 - Employer presumption against negligent hiring.
768.098 - Limitation of liability for employee leasing.
768.10 - Pits and holes not to be left open.
768.11 - Pits and holes; measure of damages.
768.12 - Motor vehicle colliding with any animal at large on a public highway.
768.125 - Liability for injury or damage resulting from intoxication.
768.1256 - Government rules defense.
768.1257 - State-of-the-art defense for products liability.
768.13 - Good Samaritan Act; immunity from civil liability.
768.1315 - Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighters’ Assistance Act; immunity from civil liability.
768.1325 - Cardiac Arrest Survival Act; immunity from civil liability.
768.1326 - Placement of automated external defibrillators in state buildings; rulemaking authority.
768.1335 - Emergency Medical Dispatch Act; presumption.
768.1345 - Professional malpractice; immunity.
768.135 - Volunteer team physicians; immunity.
768.1355 - Florida Volunteer Protection Act.
768.136 - Liability for canned or perishable food distributed free of charge.
768.137 - Definition; limitation of civil liability for certain farmers; exception.
768.138 - Interruption of electric utility service by order of law enforcement; immunity.
768.1382 - Streetlights, security lights, and other similar illumination; limitation on liability.
768.14 - Suit by state; waiver of sovereign immunity.
768.23 - Protection of minors and incompetents.
768.24 - Death of a survivor before judgment.
768.25 - Court approval of settlements.
768.295 - Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) prohibited.
768.31 - Contribution among tortfeasors.
768.35 - Continuing domestic violence.
768.36 - Alcohol or drug defense.
768.38 - Liability protections for COVID-19-related claims.
768.381 - COVID-19-related claims against health care providers.
768.382 - Limitation of liability for certain voluntary engineering or architectural services.
768.39 - Immunity for educational institutions for actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.