Bill Text: NY S03253 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the time to commence certain medical malpractice actions; provides that actions related to acts or omissions of hospitals where an incident report is required to be filed may be filed within one year of the required filing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S03253 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S03253-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3253
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- 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 time to commence certain malpractice actions
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 214-a of the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  485  of  the  laws  of 1986, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    § 214-a. Action for medical, dental or  podiatric  malpractice  to  be
     5  commenced  within  two  years and six months; exceptions.  (a) An action
     6  for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must  be  commenced  within
     7  two  years  and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of
     8  or last treatment where there  is  continuous  treatment  for  the  same
     9  illness,  injury  or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission
    10  or failure[; provided, however, that where].
    11    (b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this section, an action for
    12  medical, dental or podiatric malpractice need not  be  commenced  within
    13  two  years  and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of
    14  or last treatment where there  is  continuous  treatment  for  the  same
    15  illness,  injury  or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission
    16  or failure, if the defendant is a hospital as defined in subdivision ten
    17  of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health  law,  and  has
    18  failed  to  file  an incident report as required by section twenty-eight
    19  hundred five-l of such law in connection with the incident that  is  the
    20  subject  of  the  malpractice  action.  In  such case, the action may be
    21  commenced within one year of the date of the required filing.
    22    (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this  section,  an  action  for
    23  medical,  dental  or  podiatric malpractice need not be commenced within
    24  two years and six months of the act, omission or failure  complained  of
    25  or  last  treatment  where  there  is  continuous treatment for the same
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02617-01-7
        S. 3253                             2
     1  illness, injury or condition which gave rise to the said  act,  omission
     2  or failure, where such action is against a hospital as defined in subdi-
     3  vision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law,
     4  regardless of whether such action is otherwise barred by subdivision (a)
     5  of this section against any individual licensed under title eight of the
     6  education  law, where either such individual or such hospital has failed
     7  to file an incident report as required by section  twenty-eight  hundred
     8  five-l  of the public health law in connection with the incident that is
     9  the subject of the malpractice action. In such case, the action  may  be
    10  commenced within one year of the date of the required filing.
    11    (c)  Where  the action is based upon the discovery of a foreign object
    12  in the body of the patient, the action may be commenced within one  year
    13  of the date of such discovery or of the date of discovery of facts which
    14  would  reasonably  lead to such discovery, whichever is earlier. For the
    15  purpose of this  section  the  term  "continuous  treatment"  shall  not
    16  include  examinations  undertaken  at the request of the patient for the
    17  sole purpose of ascertaining the state of the patient's  condition.  For
    18  the  purpose of this section the term "foreign object" shall not include
    19  a chemical compound, fixation device or prosthetic aid or device.
    20    § 2.  Subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 2805-l  of  the  public
    21  health law are renumbered subdivisions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and a new subdi-
    22  vision 3 is added to read as follows:
    23    3.   Notwithstanding any other provision of law, copies of any reports
    24  submitted to the department under this section shall also simultaneously
    25  be submitted to:
    26    (a) the patient or patients who are affected in such a  manner  as  to
    27  trigger  the  reporting  requirements  as  set  forth  in paragraphs (a)
    28  through (g) of subdivision two of this section;
    29    (b) in the event  the  patient  is  deceased  or  incapacitated,  such
    30  reports  shall  be submitted with the patient's or estate's legal repre-
    31  sentative; and
    32    (c) the person, family or otherwise, who has been  identified  in  the
    33  hospital's records as the person designated by the patient for notifica-
    34  tion or consultation in the event of the patient's incapacity or death.
    35    §  3. The public health law is amended by adding two new sections 2827
    36  and 2828 to read as follows:
    37    § 2827. Liability  of  hospitals  for  infections;  private  right  of
    38  action.  Any  person,  who  in  the  course of a treatment, procedure or
    39  delivery of health care service, by any hospital as defined in  subdivi-
    40  sion  ten  of  section  twenty-eight  hundred  one  of  this article, is
    41  subjected to a hospital acquired infection as defined by  paragraph  (a)
    42  of  subdivision  one  of  section  twenty-eight hundred nineteen of this
    43  article, may bring a cause of action for  any  injuries  suffered  as  a
    44  result  of  such  infection,  pursuant to the statute of limitations set
    45  forth in section two hundred fourteen-a of the civil  practice  law  and
    46  rules.
    47    §  2828.  Strict  liability  for  medication  errors; private right of
    48  action. Every hospital, as defined in subdivision ten of  section  twen-
    49  ty-eight  hundred  one of this article, is strictly liable for any inju-
    50  ries suffered to any patient as a result of an error in providing  medi-
    51  cation  to  said  patient  in  the  course  of a treatment, procedure or
    52  delivery of health care service.
    53    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.