Bill Text: NY S00578 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires general hospital which submits an incident report to the department of health to simultaneously provide a copy of such report to the affected patients and/ or their legal representatives; stays the statute of limitations for medical, dental and podiatric malpractice causes of action until one year after an incident report is submitted.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S00578 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S00578-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
578
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. GIANARIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules and the public health
law, in relation to the provision of hospital incident reports to the
affected patients or their representatives
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "patient sunlight act".
3 S 2. Section 214-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
4 chapter 485 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
5 S 214-a. Action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice to be
6 commenced within two years and six months; exceptions. 1. An action for
7 medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two
8 years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or
9 last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness,
10 injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or fail-
11 ure[; provided, however, that where].
12 2. (A) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS
13 SECTION, AN ACTION FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC MALPRACTICE NEED NOT
14 BE COMMENCED WITHIN TWO YEARS AND SIX MONTHS OF THE ACT, OMISSION OR
15 FAILURE COMPLAINED OF OR LAST TREATMENT WHERE THERE IS CONTINUOUS TREAT-
16 MENT FOR THE SAME ILLNESS, INJURY OR CONDITION WHICH GAVE RISE TO SAID
17 ACT, OMISSION OR FAILURE, IF THE DEFENDANT IS A GENERAL HOSPITAL, AS
18 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE OF THE
19 PUBLIC HEALTH LAW, AND HAS FAILED TO FILE AN INCIDENT REPORT, AS
20 REQUIRED BY SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-L OF SUCH LAW, IN
21 CONNECTION WITH THE INCIDENT THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE MALPRACTICE
22 ACTION. IN SUCH CASE, THE ACTION MAY BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE
23 DATE SUCH INCIDENT REPORT IS FILED.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01528-01-3
S. 578 2
1 (B) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION,
2 AN ACTION FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC MALPRACTICE NEED NOT BE
3 COMMENCED WITHIN TWO YEARS AND SIX MONTHS OF THE ACT, OMISSION OR FAIL-
4 URE COMPLAINED OF OR LAST TREATMENT WHERE THERE IS CONTINUOUS TREATMENT
5 FOR THE SAME ILLNESS, INJURY OR CONDITION WHICH GAVE RISE TO SAID ACT,
6 OMISSION OR FAILURE, WHERE SUCH ACTION IS AGAINST A GENERAL HOSPITAL, AS
7 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE OF THE
8 PUBLIC HEALTH LAW, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH ACTION IS OTHERWISE BARRED
9 BY SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION AGAINST ANY PERSON LICENSED, CERTI-
10 FIED OR REGISTERED PURSUANT TO TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION LAW, WHERE
11 SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR GENERAL HOSPITAL HAS FAILED TO FILE AN INCIDENT
12 REPORT, AS REQUIRED BY SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE-L OF SUCH LAW,
13 IN CONNECTION WITH THE INCIDENT THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE MALPRACTICE
14 ACTION. IN SUCH CASE, THE ACTION MAY BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE
15 DATE SUCH INCIDENT REPORT IS FILED.
16 3. WHERE the action is based upon the discovery of a foreign object
17 in the body of the patient, the action may be commenced within one year
18 of the date of such discovery or of the date of discovery of facts which
19 would reasonably lead to such discovery, whichever is earlier. For the
20 purpose of this section the term "continuous treatment" shall not
21 include examinations undertaken at the request of the patient for the
22 sole purpose of ascertaining the state of the patient's condition. For
23 the purpose of this section the term "foreign object" shall not include
24 a chemical compound, fixation device or prosthetic aid or device.
25 S 3. Section 2805-l of the public health law is amended by adding a
26 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
27 2-A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, COPIES OF
28 ANY REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL
29 SIMULTANEOUSLY BE PROVIDED TO:
30 (A) THE PATIENT OR PATIENTS WHO WERE AFFECTED IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO
31 REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF SUCH INCIDENT REPORT;
32 (B) IN THE EVENT SUCH A PATIENT IS DECEASED OR INCAPACITATED, SUCH
33 REPORT SHALL BE PROVIDED TO THE PATIENT'S LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OR THE
34 LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PATIENT'S ESTATE; AND
35 (C) THE PERSONS, FAMILY OR OTHER PARTY IDENTIFIED IN THE HOSPITAL'S
36 RECORDS AS THE PARTY OR PARTIES DESIGNATED BY SUCH PATIENT FOR NOTIFICA-
37 TION OR CONSULTATION IN THE EVENT OF THE PATIENT'S INCAPACITY OR DEATH.
38 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
