Emergency Legislation Needed for 911

When Tina Ellis called a 911 operator in rural Placer County two years ago, she was in desperate need of help: Her 1-year-old daughter, found face down in a bucket of water, had stopped breathing. With paramedics en route, Ellis asked the dispatcher to tell her how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Fearful of legal liability, the operator refused. Later, frantic efforts by paramedics to revive the child failed.

Although such incidents are rare--but not as rare as they should be--they illustrate a potentially tragic shortcoming in California law. Because of the threat of lawsuits, emergency dispatchers--particularly those in rural areas--in some instances have been reluctant to give emergency first-aid instructions.

That’s unacceptable. Emergency personnel are paid to use every means at their disposal to save lives. Their job is difficult enough without opportunistic lawyers waiting in the wings to profit from miscues.

To that end, AB 12, a bill authored by Assemblyman Bob Epple (D-Cerritos) would allow emergency dispatchers who had undergone required training to give first-aid instructions, without fear of lawsuits, while medical assistance was on the way.

After passing 78-0 in the Assembly, AB 12 is tied up in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where chairman Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) allowed the measure to stall. He and his Senate counterparts should now make every effort not only to get the bill to the Senate floor but to get it passed.