Justices address federal limitations of Louisiana health care provider shield
Source: Courthouse News Service
December 8, 2025
(CN) — The Supreme Court agreed in an order list released Monday to decide whether a Louisiana law can shield health care providers from federal claims and declined to find that improper jury instructions led to a North Carolina man’s life sentence.
In a unanimous statement, the justices called out the Louisiana Court of Appeals for issuing a faulty ruling that held a state statute barred a man’s federal claims, granting his petition for review. “That decision is incorrect,” the justices wrote. “Defining the scope of liability under state law is the state’s prerogative. But a state has no power to confer immunity from federal causes of action.”
The state law at issue immunizes health care providers from civil liability during public health emergencies. The Louisiana Health Emergency Powers Act was passed in 2003 to help facilitate the state’s response to public health emergencies and limit liability, to prevent any hesitation in providing care.
When a man filed suit against Dynamic Physical Therapy in 2021, claiming he was wrongfully denied medical care for having HIV, his claims were barred as the Louisiana governor issued a health emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the man argued federal rather than state laws were violated under the American with Disabilities Act because refusing to provide him aquatic physical therapy was discriminatory based on his HIV status.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/justices-address-federal-limitations-of-louisiana-health-care-provider-shield/
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