Gov. Wolf signs order granting civil immunity to health care providers during covid-19 pandemic - TribLIVE

Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday that could shield health care workers from potential lawsuits while confronting the covid-19 pandemic.

The order grants civil immunity to individual licensed, certified and registered health care workers acting in “good faith” across all types of state-defined health care facilities — among others, hospitals, ambulatory centers, psychiatric hospitals, cancer centers, drug and alcohol treatment programs and rehabilitation hospitals.

It extends the protection to workers at nursing homes, assisted living facilities and community-based testing sites.

The immunity does not apply to “acts or omissions that constitute a crime, gross negligence, or fraud, malice, or other willful misconduct.”

Immunity extends throughout pandemic

The governor hailed the emergency declaration as a way “to protect the individuals serving on the front lines of the disaster response.”

“As the covid-19 pandemic has required the Wolf Administration to take broad action to respond to and prepare for Pennsylvanians’ critical health care needs, so, too, has it required our health care providers to broaden their professional responsibilities and experiences like never before,” Wolf said in a statement.

The order takes effect immediately and will remain in place as long as Pennsylvania remains in a state of emergency because of covid-19.

Wolf signed the order after stalled legislation and weeks of mounting pressure by medical advocacy groups to grant civil immunity to the health care workforce.

“Staff are putting themselves at risk every single day,” Pennsylvania Health Care Association and LeadingAge PA wrote in a letter to Wolf last month. “They should not have to worry about the threat of lawsuits as they care for their residents.”

‘Broad’ scope could impede litigant rights, attorney says

Wolf’s move garnered mixed reactions from interest groups and attorneys.

Pittsburgh-based medical malpractice attorney Brendan B. Lupetin said that an order granting more liability protections to health care workers was “overdue.”

But Lupetin said he has concerns over the newly signed order’s broad scope and language — which effectively grants immunity to “any licensed health care provider who’s providing care related to covid-19.”

He could see that language potentially getting “extended pretty far” and applied to cases of negligent medical care that does not relate to covid-19 or pandemic-related problems, such an overflow of patients.

“So it’s a little worrisome that patients with righteous cases that really had little to do with a pandemic, or who were injured or killed as a result of malpractice, could lose their rights,” Lupetin said. “It’ll be really interesting to see how that plays out over time.“

The Wolf administration says the order is in line with neighboring states, and that the immunity applies only to those “practicing with good judgment under very challenging circumstances.”

Chamber wants more businesses to get immunity

Gene Barr of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business Industry argues that Wolf’s order “doesn’t go nearly far enough.”

The chamber called for Wolf to expand the immunity protection to hospital and health systems, as well as to many other businesses operating during the pandemic.

“These protections must be extended to the entire medical community — including hospitals and health systems — who continue to make great economic sacrifices as they work to slow the spread of the virus and treat patients,” Barr, the state chamber’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Barr cited many businesses making “bold changes in order to combat covid-19. Among them: closing locations, reworking operations to comply with social distancing rules, and adjusting production lines “to provide the medical community with the personal protective equipment they desperately need right now.”

“If they continue to proceed in these efforts without liability protections in place, hospitals and businesses could face mountains of lawsuits — which would further stall our recovery efforts, and lead to closures and shutdowns,” Barr said. “It’s important to note, this would not be blanket immunity, but protection that is targeted, narrow and temporary.”

In addition to health care workers, Wolf’s order as it stands extends immunity protections to a person, organization or authority that allows real estate or their facilities to be used for covid-19 services without compensation, “in the case of death, injury, or loss or damage to the property of any person who is on the premises for the purpose of those emergency services.”

The order follows other efforts to unburden the health care sector during the pandemic.

Last month, the Wolf administration made a slew of regulatory changes to increase the availability of health care workers statewide, including by waiving fees and easing requirements for retired doctors, nurses and pharmacists to return to the field and work wherever they are needed most.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .