Howard v. Coffee Regional Medical Center, Inc., et al., [A25A1410, Nov. 3, 2025] __ S.E.2d __ (Ga. Ct. App. 2025). The court (Davis, J.; Rickman, P.J., and Gobeil, J., concur) reversed.
The court held that GEMA immunity extends only to individual “workers,” employees, agents, volunteers, or auxiliary emergency management workers and does not encompass healthcare facilities or corporate entities. Because the hospital and physician group do not fall within the statutory category of workers, and because immunity personal to individual nurses cannot be imputed to the hospital, both entities were ineligible for GEMA protection. Ms.** 6–9.
As to the treating physician, the court determined that genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether she was engaged in “emergency management activity” and whether the patient’s death resulted from such activity. Evidence that the patient twice tested negative for COVID-19, that ICU beds were available, and that ICU-level monitoring was not provided despite hospital policy precluded summary judgment under GEMA. Ms.** 9–11.
The PBSA likewise did not support summary judgment because the alleged negligence occurred in April 2020 months prior to the statute’s August 2020 enactment and the Act contains no clear expression of retroactive application. Ms.** 12–13.