Bill Text: NY A07675 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to discovery of the plaintiff's medical records in a personal injury action; provides that medical records are material and necessary to the defense of a personal injury action if they reasonably relate to the injuries or limitations claimed by the plaintiff in the action.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to judiciary [A07675 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07675-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7675

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 19, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LAVINE -- (at request of the Office of Court
          Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Judici-
          ary

        AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to discov-
          ery of the plaintiff's medical records in a personal injury action

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 3101 of the civil practice law and rules is amended
     2  by adding a new subdivision (j) to read as follows:
     3    (j) Medical records in personal injury actions. 1. Medical records are
     4  material and necessary to the defense of a  personal  injury  action  if
     5  they  reasonably  relate  to  the injuries or limitations claimed by the
     6  plaintiff in the action. A person who commences a personal injury action
     7  waives his or her privilege under sections four  thousand  five  hundred
     8  four,  four  thousand  five hundred seven and four thousand five hundred
     9  eight of this chapter regarding medical records, but only  with  respect
    10  to  those  medical  records  shown  to  be material and necessary to the
    11  defense of such action. A claim by the plaintiff of loss of enjoyment of
    12  life or emotional injury shall not  of  itself  render  the  plaintiff's
    13  entire  medical  history  material  and  necessary  to the defense of an
    14  action, but such claims shall be considered in assessing whether, or  to
    15  what  extent,  the records sought for the defense of such action reason-
    16  ably relate to the injuries and limitations claimed by the plaintiff.
    17    2. A party seeking disclosure of another party's medical records bears
    18  the burden of establishing prima facie evidence that the records  sought
    19  are material and necessary for the defense of the plaintiff's claims. If
    20  the  party seeking disclosure establishes such prima facie evidence, the
    21  party seeking to withhold medical records subject to disclosure may seek
    22  a protective order pursuant to subdivision (a) of section three thousand
    23  one hundred three of this article and shall bear the  burden  of  estab-
    24  lishing why such records shall not be disclosed.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09637-01-1
        A. 7675                             2

     1    3.  For  the  purposes of this subdivision, the term "medical records"
     2  shall mean records of a licensed, registered or authorized professional,
     3  or of that professional's employee, pursuant to  section  four  thousand
     4  five  hundred four, four thousand five hundred seven, four thousand five
     5  hundred eight or four thousand five hundred ten of this chapter.
     6    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
     7  actions pending or commenced on and after such effective date.