The Cardiac Arrest Survival Act creates a federal liability shield for people who use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in cardiac emergencies. The bill protects three groups from lawsuits: people who use AEDs to help someone in cardiac arrest, property owners or managers where an AED is used, and people who own AEDs—though AED owners can still be held liable if they fail to properly maintain their device according to manufacturer guidelines. The protections apply regardless of whether the person using the AED had any training, saw warning signs, or received medical supervision. The law includes narrow exceptions for gross negligence, criminal misconduct, and healthcare professionals or facilities acting within their employment scope. Congress designed this federal standard to replace the current patchwork of inconsistent state "Good Samaritan" laws, which it found were discouraging organizations—especially those operating across multiple states—from acquiring and deploying AEDs due to liability concerns.
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