Does public access defibrillation stand a chance in Germany? - The US model, legal reservations and their justification

Purpose: The introduction of public access to defibrillation via automated external defibrillators makes if: possible to reduce the incidence of sudde n cardiac arrest cases. Since they may expect civil and criminal liability after negligence causing damage, many German potential First Responders mig ht hesitate to use an AED. Methods: After we demonstrate the medical reasons and compare the legal sit uation of Public Access Defibrillation between the USA and Germany we analy se a possible hesitation of German First Responders. Results: More than 30 states of the USA provide immunity from civil liabili ty after a public access defibrillation followed by damage due to negligenc e. However, only an AED-trained US-First Responder is granted immunity from civil liability. In Germany there is no immunity from civil and criminal l iability in case of public access defibrillation with damage caused by negl igence. Conclusion: German law will not decrease any possible hesitation by First R esponders. For a successful system of public access defibrillation, revisio n of the legal situation is mandatory.