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A2478Assembly2017-2018 SessionSame asS83

Expand Patient Legal Rights

Official title

“Provides for additional remedies for patients' private right of actions in residential health care facilities”

Sponsor Richard GottfriedAD-75+10 co-sponsorsAffects Health
Status
In Senate Committee
Health
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 5 of 7

In Senate · Health

What's happening

This bill allows a patient's legal representative or estate to bring private actions and seek remedies against residential health care facilities.

Why it matters

  1. Expands legal standing. by allowing not only the patient but also their legal representative or estate to bring lawsuits against residential health care facilities, ensuring that vulnerable or incapacitated patients’ rights can still be enforced.

  2. Increases facility accountability. by making it clear that remedies and damages can be sought even if administrative remedies haven’t been exhausted, potentially speeding up the process for holding facilities responsible.

  3. Strengthens patient protections. by making these remedies cumulative—meaning legal representatives or estates can pursue these actions in addition to any other legal or administrative claims, not instead of them.

  4. Addresses posthumous justice. by explicitly empowering a deceased patient’s estate to seek relief, ensuring facilities can’t avoid liability simply because a patient has passed away.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Expand Patient Legal Rights

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Richard Gottfried

Assembly Member · Assembly District 75

History

  1. Referred to health
  2. Delivered to senate
  3. Passed assembly
  4. Ordered to third reading cal.197
  5. Returned to assembly
  6. Died in senate
  7. Referred to health
  8. Delivered to senate
  9. Passed assembly
  10. Advanced to third reading cal.37
  11. Reported
  12. Referred to health

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

S83Senate

Expand Patient Legal Remedies

In Senate Committee · Health · Sponsor Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Impact 4 · Low0% to pass

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

2478

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 20, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, PAULIN, GALEF, JAFFEE, COLTON, CAHILL, ENGLEBRIGHT, ABINANTI, HYNDMAN, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CARROLL, DINOWITZ, GLICK, LIFTON, PERRY, TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to remedies available in private actions by patients of residential health care facilities

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

Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2801-d of the public health law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 2009, is amended and a new subdivision 4-a is added to read as follows:

4. Any damages recoverable pursuant to this section, including minimum damages as provided by subdivision two of this section, may be recovered in any action which a court may authorize to be brought as a class action pursuant to article nine of the civil practice law and rules. The remedies provided in this section are in addition to and cumulative with any other remedies available to a patient, the patient's legal representative, or the patient's estate at law or in equity or by administrative proceedings, including tort causes of action, and may be granted regardless of whether such other remedies are available or are sought. A violation of subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred three-c of this article is not a prerequisite for a claim under this section. Exhaustion of any available administrative remedies shall not be required prior to commencement of suit hereunder.

4-a. Under this section, any action that may be brought, and any relief that may be sought or received, may be brought, sought or received in an appropriate case by the patient's legal representative or the patient's estate.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to any actions filed on and after such effective date.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02211-01-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.