§ 19-10A-7.Liability
Chapter 10A. Eliza Jane Warner Act · Last amended 2026 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-10A-7
Plain-English Summary
This section protects the places and people who receive babies under the safe-haven law. Medical facilities, fire stations, police stations and ambulance services — along with their employees, agents and staff members — are not liable for civil damages and are not subject to criminal prosecution for failure to discharge the duties provided for in Chapter 10A.
Those duties appear mainly in § 19-10A-6: immediately arranging transport of the newborn to the nearest medical facility and notifying the Department of Human Services when the child is left and when the child is medically ready for discharge. Section 19-10A-8 sets requirements for newborn safety devices. The immunity means a lawsuit or criminal charge can’t rest on a failure to perform those chapter duties.
The protection has one stated limit. It must not be read as providing immunity for any acts of negligent treatment of the child taken into custody. So if staff provide medical or other care to the baby negligently, this section offers no defense, and ordinary rules of liability apply. The section speaks of medical facilities, fire stations, police stations and ambulance services; it doesn’t separately name public safety vehicles. It was last amended in 2026, effective July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a hospital be sued for accepting a safe haven baby in Georgia?
Not for failing to discharge the duties the safe-haven chapter provides. Medical facilities, fire stations, police stations, ambulance services and their employees, agents and staff are not liable for civil damages for that failure. But the immunity does not cover negligent treatment of the child taken into custody, so a claim based on negligent care isn’t barred by this section.
Can firefighters or police be charged for mishandling a safe haven baby?
They can’t be criminally prosecuted for failure to discharge the duties provided for in the safe-haven chapter. Fire stations and police stations and their employees, agents and staff members share that protection with medical facilities and ambulance services. The section doesn’t provide immunity for any acts of negligent treatment of the child.
Does safe haven immunity cover medical malpractice?
No. The section says the immunity shall in no way be construed as providing immunity for any acts of negligent treatment of the child taken into custody. It covers only failure to discharge the chapter’s duties, such as arranging transport and notifying the Department of Human Services under § 19-10A-6.
What duties does the safe haven immunity cover?
The duties provided for in Chapter 10A. The main ones, in § 19-10A-6, are to immediately arrange transport of the newborn to the nearest medical facility and to notify the Department of Human Services when the child is left and when the child is medically ready for discharge. Section 19-10A-8 sets the standards for newborn safety devices.
Are volunteer firefighters protected under Georgia’s safe haven law?
This section doesn’t use the word volunteer. Its immunity covers employees, agents and staff members of fire stations, and § 19-10A-4 recognizes that staff receiving a baby may be in a paid or volunteer position. The protection reaches civil damages and criminal prosecution for failure to discharge the chapter’s duties, but not negligent treatment of the child.
Amendment History
Laws 2002, p. 1137, § 1; Laws 2017, Act 202, § 1, eff. July 1, 2017; Laws 2026, Act 639, § 1, eff. July 1, 2026.