{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-39a.280","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 39A.280","heading":"Nature of disaster and emergency  response functions provided by","body":"state or local management  agency, licensed professional engineer, or\nlicensed architect -- Immunity, exceptions.\n(1) Disaster and emergency  response functions provided by a state or local\nemergency  management  agency,  or  any  emergency  management\nagency-supervised operating units or personnel officially affiliated with a local\ndisaster and emergency services organization pursuant to KRS  39B.070, shall\nnot, in itself, be deemed  to be the making of a promise, or the undertaking of a\nspecial duty, towards any person for the services, or any particular level of, or\nmanner  of providing, the services; nor shall the provision of or failure to provide\nthese services be deemed  to create a special relationship or duty towards any\nperson upon which an action in negligence or other tort might be founded.\nSpecifically:\n(a) The failure to respond to a disaster or other emergency, or to undertake\nparticular inspections or types of inspections, or to maintain any particular\nlevel of personnel, equipment, or facilities, shall not be a breach of any\nduty to persons affected by any disaster or other emergency.\n(b) When  a  state or local emergency  management  agency, or local\nemergency  management  agency-supervised operating unit officially\naffiliated with a local disaster and emergency services organization, does\nundertake to respond to a disaster or other emergency, the failure to\nprovide the same level or manner of service, or equivalent availability or\nallocation of resources as may or could be provided, shall not be a breach\nof any duty to persons affected by that disaster or other emergency.\n(c) A  state or local emergency  management  agency, or local emergency\nmanagement  agency-supervised operating unit officially affiliated with a\nlocal disaster and emergency  services organization shall not have or\nassume  any duty towards any person to adopt, use, or avoid any\nparticular strategy or tactic in responding to a  disaster or other\nemergency.\n(d) A  state or local emergency  management  agency, or local emergency\nmanagement  agency-supervised operating unit officially affiliated with a\nlocal disaster and  emergency  services organization, in undertaking\ndisaster and emergency preparedness or prevention activities including\ninspections, or in undertaking to respond to a  disaster or other\nemergency,  shall not have voluntarily assumed  any special duty with\nrespect to any risks which were not created or caused by it, nor with\nrespect to any risks which might have existed even in the absence of that\nactivity or response, nor shall any person have a right to rely on such an\nassumption of duty.\n(2) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state, nor the agents or\nrepresentatives of the state or any of its political subdivisions, shall be liable for\npersonal injury or property damage  sustained by any person appointed or\nacting as a volunteer emergency management  agency member,  or disaster\nand emergency services member, or disaster and emergency response worker,\nor member  of any agency engaged in any emergency management  or disaster\nand  emergency services or disaster and emergency response activity. This\nimmunity shall not affect the right of any person to receive benefits or\ncompensation  to which the person might otherwise be entitled under the\nWorkers' Compensation Law, or this chapter, or any pension law, or any Act of\nCongress.\n(3) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, neither the state nor any political\nsubdivision of the state nor, except in cases of gross negligence or wanton,\nwillful, malicious, or intentional misconduct, the employees, agents, or\nrepresentatives of the state or any of its political divisions, nor any volunteer or\nauxiliary emergency management  agency or disaster and emergency services\norganization member  or disaster and emergency response worker or member\nof any agency engaged  in any emergency  management  or disaster and\nemergency  services or disaster and emergency response activity, complying\nwith or reasonably attempting to comply with this chapter or any executive\naction or administrative regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of\nthis chapter, or other measures enacted by any city or the state, shall be liable\nfor the death of or injury to persons, or for damage  to property, as a result of\nthat activity.\n(4) Decisions of the director, his or her subordinates or employees, a local\nemergency  management  director, or the local director's subordinates or\nemployees,  a  rescue chief or the chief's subordinates, concerning the\nallocation and assignment of personnel and equipment, and the strategies and\ntactics used, shall be the exercise of a discretionary, policy function for which\nneither the officer nor the state, county, urban-county, charter county, or city, or\nlocal emergency  management  agency-supervised operating unit formally\naffiliated with a local disaster and emergency services organization, shall be\nheld liable in the absence of gross negligence or wanton, willful, malicious, or\nintentional misconduct, even  when  those decisions are made  rapidly in\nresponse to the exigencies of an emergency.\n(5) Any  person owning or controlling real estate or other premises who grants a\nlicense or privilege, or otherwise permits the designation or use of the whole or\nany part of the real estate or premises for the purpose of sheltering persons\nduring an actual, impending, mock, or practice disaster or emergency, together\nwith his or her successors in interest, shall not be civilly liable for negligently\ncausing the death of, or injury to, any person on or about the real estate or\npremises for loss of, or damage to, the property of that person.\n(6) Subsection (3) of this section shall apply to a volunteer or auxiliary disaster and\nemergency  response worker if the worker is enrolled or registered under KRS\n39A.356, or with the political subdivision in accordance with the political\nsubdivision's administrative regulations and as provided in KRS 39F.020.\n(7) While engaged in disaster and emergency response activity, volunteers and\nauxiliary disaster and emergency response workers enrolled or registered with\na  local disaster and emergency service organization or with the division in\naccordance with subsection (6) of this section shall have the same degree of\nresponsibility for their actions and enjoy the same immunities as officers and\nemployees  of the state and its political subdivisions performing similar work,\nincluding the provisions of KRS  12.211, 12.212, and 12.215, allowing the\nAttorney General to provide defense of any civil action brought against a\nvolunteer enrolled or registered due to an act or omission made  in the scope\nand course of a disaster and emergency response activity.\n(8) (a) A  licensed professional engineer as defined in KRS  322.010 or an\narchitect licensed under KRS  Chapter 323, who provides architectural,\nstructural, electrical, mechanical, or other professional services at the\nscene  of a declared emergency, disaster, or catastrophe, shall not be\nliable for any personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, or other\nloss of any nature related to the licensed professional engineer's or\nlicensed architect's acts, errors, or omissions in the performance of the\nservices carried out:\n1. At the request of or with the approval of a federal, state, or local:\na. Emergency  management  agency  official with executive\nresponsibility in the jurisdiction to coordinate disaster and\nemergency response activity;\nb. Fire chief or his or her designee; or\nc. Building inspection official;\nwhom  the licensed professional engineer or licensed architect\nbelieves to be acting in an official capacity;\n2. Within ninety (90) days following the end of the period for the\ndeclared emergency, disaster, or catastrophe. If the emergency is\nextended under KRS  39A.090, the ninety (90) days shall run from\nthe end date of the last extension; and\n3. If the professional services arose out of the declared emergency,\ndisaster, or catastrophe and if the licensed professional engineer or\nlicensed architect acted as an ordinary reasonably prudent member\nof the profession would have acted under the same  or similar\ncircumstances.\n(b) Nothing in this subsection shall provide immunity for gross negligence or\nwanton, willful, or intentional misconduct.","path":["KRS Chapter 39A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50907","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:58Z","sha256":"43f8ac43a2575fff4c7c40d98dd5003028f66ff624d6f61e1f65660ffcf4ca70","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-39a.275","next":"us-ky/krs-39a.283"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}