Any physician, surgeon or chiropractor licensed to practice by the Board of Medicine in the Commonwealth who, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, renders emergency medical care or emergency treatment to a participant in an athletic event sponsored by a public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school while acting without compensation as a team physician, shall not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission related to such care or treatment.
§ 8.01-225.1.Immunity for team physicians.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-225.1 shields a physician, surgeon, or chiropractor who volunteers without compensation as a team physician at a school athletic event from civil liability for emergency medical care or treatment given to a participant, unless the care involved gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Full Text of § 8.01-225.1
Plain-English Summary
Schools rely on volunteer medical professionals to be on hand at athletic events in case a student athlete gets hurt. This section removes a liability disincentive for doing that work: a physician, surgeon, or chiropractor licensed by the Board of Medicine who acts without compensation as a team physician for a public, private, or religious elementary, middle, or high school athletic event is immune from civil damages for acts or omissions connected to the emergency medical care or treatment given to a participant.
The protection is bounded in two ways. It covers emergency care and treatment specifically, not the physician’s broader oversight of a team’s health program, and it does not extend to gross negligence or willful misconduct, only to good-faith emergency judgment calls made in the absence of that kind of serious fault.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a volunteer team doctor protected from lawsuits for treating an injured player?
Yes, for emergency medical care or treatment given in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, as long as the physician, surgeon, or chiropractor is licensed by the Board of Medicine and serves without compensation.
Does this immunity cover paid team physicians?
No. The statute is limited to those acting “without compensation” as a team physician; a physician paid for that role falls outside this specific immunity.
What kinds of schools does this section cover?
Public, private, and religious elementary, middle, and high schools whose athletic events the team physician is serving.
Does this section protect a team physician for something other than emergency care?
No. The immunity is tied to “emergency medical care or emergency treatment” rendered to a participant in the athletic event, not to broader medical advice or ongoing treatment outside that emergency context.
What professionals qualify for this immunity?
A physician, surgeon, or chiropractor licensed to practice by the Board of Medicine in Virginia.
Amendment History
1989, c. 436; 1993, c. 702; 2005, c. 928.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: volunteer team doctor immunity virginiaschool sports physician liability virginiateam physician immunity virginia school sportschiropractor sports injury immunity virginia