A. In the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, any health care provider who responds to a disaster shall not be liable for any injury or wrongful death of any person arising from the delivery or withholding of health care when (i) a local emergency, state of emergency, or public health emergency has been or is subsequently declared in response to such disaster, and (ii) the emergency and subsequent conditions caused a lack of resources, attributable to the disaster, rendering the health care provider unable to provide the level or manner of care that otherwise would have been required in the absence of the emergency and which resulted in the injury or wrongful death at issue.
§ 8.01-225.02.Certain liability protection for health care providers during disasters.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-225.02 shields health care providers from civil liability for injury or wrongful death caused by a disaster-driven resource shortage that forced a lower level of care than would otherwise be required, so long as the provider was not grossly negligent or engaged in willful misconduct.
Full Text of § 8.01-225.02
B. For purposes of this section:
"Communicable disease of public health threat" has the same definition as provided in § 44-146.16.
"Disaster" means any "disaster," "emergency," or "major disaster" as those terms are used and defined in § 44- 146.16.
"Health care provider" has the same definition as provided in § 8.01-581.1.
"Local emergency" has the same definition as provided in § 44-146.16.
"Public health emergency" has the same definition as provided in § 8.01-225.01.
"Resource shortage" has the same definition as provided in § 44-146.16.
"State of emergency" has the same definition as provided in § 44-146.16.
Plain-English Summary
This section works alongside § 8.01-225.01 but addresses a different failure mode: not abandoning a patient outright, but delivering or withholding care at a lower standard than would ordinarily apply because a declared emergency created a resource shortage. Subsection A immunizes a health care provider from liability for a resulting injury or wrongful death when a local emergency, state of emergency, or public health emergency has been declared in response to the disaster, and the emergency caused a lack of resources that left the provider unable to deliver the level or manner of care normally required, and that shortfall caused the harm at issue.
As with the companion section, the immunity depends on the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct — this section protects providers making the best of an emergency-driven resource crunch, not providers who fall short of even that reduced standard through serious fault. Subsection B defines the operative terms — disaster, health care provider, public health emergency, and the rest — largely by cross-reference to § 44-146.16 and § 8.01-225.01.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this section different from § 8.01-225.01?
Section 8.01-225.01 addresses claims that a provider abandoned a patient during a disaster response; this section addresses claims that a provider delivered a lower standard of care because a disaster-driven resource shortage made the ordinary level of care unavailable.
What has to cause the reduced level of care for this immunity to apply?
A lack of resources attributable to the disaster, occurring after a local emergency, state of emergency, or public health emergency has been declared in response to it — the shortage has to be tied to the declared emergency, not an unrelated cause.
Does this section protect a provider who was careless beyond what the emergency required?
No. The immunity is unavailable if the provider’s conduct amounted to gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Where do the key terms in this section come from?
Subsection B defines most terms by cross-reference to Virginia’s Emergency Services and Disaster Law, § 44-146.16, and to the “public health emergency” definition set out in § 8.01-225.01.
Does this section apply outside the health care context?
No. It is limited to health care providers, as defined by cross-reference to § 8.01-581.1, responding to a disaster.
Amendment History
2008, cc. 121, 157; 2022, c. 617.
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
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