Bill Text: NY A01622 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to creating the crime of reckless infection of a patient with a communicable disease by a health care provider; to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the notification of patients by the department of health if a health care provider is determined to have exposed patients to a communicable disease through reckless conduct; to amend the education law, in relation to establishing as professional misconduct certain reckless conduct; and to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the time period for commencing certain medical malpractice actions
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to codes [A01622 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A01622-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 1622 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y (PREFILED) January 7, 2009 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, ALFANO, ESPAILLAT, JAFFEE, ORTIZ, ARROYO, FIELDS, LANCMAN, J. RIVERA, CLARK, GALEF, MAISEL, EDDINGTON, HEVESI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HOOPER, HYER-SPENCER, V. LOPEZ, McENENY, PHEFFER, ROBINSON, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating the crime of reckless infection of a patient with a communicable disease by a health care provider; to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the notification of patients by the department of health if a health care provider is determined to have exposed patients to a communicable disease through reckless conduct; to amend the education law, in relation to establishing as professional misconduct certain reckless conduct; and to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the time period for commencing certain medical malpractice actions THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.67 to 2 read as follows: 3 S 240.67 RECKLESS INFECTION OF A PATIENT WITH A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE BY 4 A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER. 5 A PERSON IS GUILTY OF RECKLESS INFECTION OF A PATIENT WITH A COMMUNI- 6 CABLE DISEASE BY A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER WHEN A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER 7 THROUGH RECKLESS CONDUCT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE REUSE OF A 8 SYRINGE, NEEDLE OR OTHER SHARP, INFECTS A PATIENT WITH A COMMUNICABLE 9 DISEASE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "HEALTH CARE PROVIDER" MEANS 10 ANY PERSON WHO IS, OR IS REQUIRED TO BE, LICENSED OR REGISTERED OR HOLDS 11 HIMSELF OR HERSELF OUT TO BE LICENSED OR REGISTERED, OR PROVIDES 12 SERVICES AS IF HE OR SHE WERE LICENSED OR REGISTERED IN THE PROFESSION 13 OF MEDICINE, CHIROPRACTIC, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY UNDER ANY OF THE EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01933-01-9 A. 1622 2 1 FOLLOWING: ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE, ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO, ONE 2 HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE, OR ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE OF THE EDUCATION LAW. 3 RECKLESS INFECTION OF A PATIENT WITH A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE BY A 4 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IS A CLASS E FELONY. 5 S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 206 of the public health law is amended 6 by adding a new paragraph (t) to read as follows: 7 (T) NOTIFY THE PATIENT OR PATIENTS OF A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IF SUCH 8 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IS DETERMINED TO HAVE EXPOSED SUCH PATIENT OR 9 PATIENTS TO A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE THROUGH RECKLESS CONDUCT, INCLUDING, 10 BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE REUSE OF A SYRINGE, NEEDLE OR OTHER SHARP. 11 S 3. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new 12 subdivision 50 to read as follows: 13 50. EXPOSING PATIENTS TO A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE DUE TO RECKLESS 14 CONDUCT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE REUSE OF A SYRINGE, NEEDLE 15 OR OTHER SHARP. 16 S 4. Section 214-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by 17 chapter 485 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows: 18 S 214-a. Action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice to be 19 commenced within two years and six months; exceptions. 1. An action for 20 medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two 21 years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or 22 last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness, 23 injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or fail- 24 ure; provided, however, that: 25 (A) where the action is based upon the discovery of a foreign object 26 in the body of the patient, the action may be commenced within one year 27 of the date of such discovery or of the date of discovery of facts which 28 would reasonably lead to such discovery, whichever is earlier; AND 29 (B) WHERE THE ACTION IS BASED UPON THE INFECTION OF THE PATIENT WITH A 30 COMMUNICABLE DISEASE THROUGH THE RECKLESS CONDUCT OF A HEALTH CARE 31 PROVIDER INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE REUSE OF A SYRINGE, NEEDLE 32 OR OTHER SHARP, THE ACTION SHALL BE COMMENCED WITHIN TWO YEARS AND SIX 33 MONTHS OF THE DATE UPON WHICH A PATIENT: (I) IS INFORMED BY THE DEPART- 34 MENT OF HEALTH THAT HE OR SHE MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO A COMMUNICABLE 35 DISEASE BY THE RECKLESS CONDUCT OF A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER; OR (II) 36 OTHERWISE BECOMES AWARE OF SUCH FACTS AS WOULD LEAD A REASONABLE PERSON 37 TO BELIEVE THAT HE OR SHE HAD BEEN SO EXPOSED. 38 2. For the purpose of this section the term "continuous treatment" 39 shall not include examinations undertaken at the request of the patient 40 for the sole purpose of ascertaining the state of the patient's condi- 41 tion. For the purpose of this section the term "foreign object" shall 42 not include a chemical compound, fixation device or prosthetic aid or 43 device. 44 S 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 45 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate- 46 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 47 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is 48 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 49 effective date.