California Civil Code. California
health care provider who receives unsolicited test results from a multiphasic screening unit shall receive immunity from liability pursuant to subdivision (a) only if the provider who receives such test results and does not wish to evaluate them, or evaluates them and takes no further action, either notifies the multiphasic screening unit of that fact or returns the test results within 21 days. If the health care provider reviews the test results and determines that they indicate a substantial risk of serious illness or death the provider shall make a reasonable effort to notify the person tested of the presumptive finding within 14 days after the provider has received the test results.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Health care provider” means any person licensed or certified pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code, or licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Initiative Act or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, and any clinic, health dispensary, or health facility licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code. “Health care provider” also includes the legal representatives of a health care provider.
(2) “Professional negligence” means an action for personal injury or wrongful death proximately caused by a health care provider’s negligent act or omission to act in the rendering of professional services, provided that such services are within the scope of services for which the health care provider is licensed and are not within any restriction imposed by the licensing agency or any licensed hospital.
(3) “Unsolicited referral” means any written report regarding the health, physical or mental condition of any person which was forwarded or delivered to a health care provider without prior request by such provider.
(4) A “multiphasic screening unit” means a facility which does not prescribe or treat patients but performs diagnostic testing only.
(Amended by Stats. 1980, Ch. 676, Sec. 38.)
43.91. (a) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall arise against, any member of a duly appointed committee of a professional society which comprises a substantial percentage of the persons licensed pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 10000) of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code and situated in the geographic area served by the particular society, for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of the functions of any such committee which is formed to maintain the professional standards of the society established by its bylaws, if such member acts without malice, has made a reasonable effort to obtain the facts of the matter as to which he acts, and acts in reasonable belief that the action taken by him is warranted by the facts known to him after such reasonable effort to obtain facts.
(b) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any person on account of the communication of information in the possession of such person to any committee specified in subdivision (a) when such communication is intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness or character of a member or applicant for membership in any such professional society, and does not represent as true any matter not reasonably believed to be true.
(c) The immunities afforded by this section shall not affect the availability of any absolute privilege which may be afforded by Section 47.
(d) This section shall not be construed to confer immunity from liability on any professional society. In any case in which, but for the enactment of this section, a cause of action would arise against a professional society, such cause of action shall exist as if this section had not been enacted.
(Added by Stats. 1980, Ch. 492, Sec. 1.)
43.92. (a) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall arise against, any person who is a psychotherapist as defined in Section 1010 of the Evidence Code in failing to protect from a patient’s threatened violent behavior or failing to predict and protect from a patient’s violent behavior except if the patient has communicated to the psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or victims.
(b) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action shall arise against, a psychotherapist who, under the limited circumstances specified in subdivision (a), discharges his or her duty to protect by making reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim or victims and to a law enforcement agency.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments made by the act adding this subdivision only change the name of the duty referenced in this section from a duty to warn and protect to a duty to protect. Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a substantive change, and any duty of a psychotherapist shall not be modified as a result of changing the wording in this section.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that a court interpret this section, as amended by the act adding this subdivision, in a manner consistent with the interpretation of this section as it read prior to January 1, 2013.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 149, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2013.)
43.93. (a) For the purposes of this section the following definitions are applicable:
(1) “Psychotherapy” means the professional treatment, assessment, or counseling of a mental or emotional illness, symptom, or condition.
(2) “Psychotherapist” means a physician and surgeon specializing in the practice of psychiatry, a psychologist, a psychological assistant, a marriage and family therapist, a registered marriage and family therapist intern or trainee, an educational psychologist, an associate clinical social worker, a licensed clinical social worker, a professional clinical counselor, or a registered clinical counselor intern or trainee.
(3) “Sexual contact” means the touching of an intimate part of another person. “Intimate part” and “touching” have the same meanings as defined in subdivisions (f) and (d), respectively, of Section 243.4 of the Penal Code. For the purposes of this section, sexual contact includes sexual intercourse, sodomy, and oral copulation.
(4) “Therapeutic relationship” exists during the time the patient or client is rendered professional service by the psychotherapist.
(5) “Therapeutic deception” means a representation by a psychotherapist that sexual contact with the psychotherapist is consistent with or part of the patient’s or former patient’s treatment.
(b) A cause of action against a psychotherapist for sexual contact exists for a patient or former patient for injury caused by sexual contact with the psychotherapist, if the sexual contact occurred under any of the following conditions:
(1) During the period the patient was receiving psychotherapy from the psychotherapist.
(2) Within two years following termination of therapy.
(3) By means of therapeutic deception.
(c) The patient or former patient may recover damages from a psychotherapist who is found liable for sexual contact. It is not a defense to the action that sexual contact with a patient occurred outside a therapy or treatment session or that it occurred off the premises regularly used by the psychotherapist for therapy or treatment sessions. No cause of action shall exist between spouses within a marriage.
(d) In an action for sexual contact, evidence of the plaintiff’s sexual history is not subject to discovery and is not admissible as evidence except in either of the following situations:
(1) The plaintiff claims damage to sexual functioning.
(2) The defendant requests a hearing prior to conducting discovery and makes an offer of proof of the relevancy of the history, and the court finds that the history is relevant and the probative value of the history outweighs its prejudicial effect.
The court shall allow the discovery or introduction as evidence only of specific information or examples of the plaintiff’s conduct that are determined by the court to be relevant. The court’s order shall detail the information or conduct