Provides that in a civil action, an operator of a motor vehicle in this state shall be deemed to have waived privileged confidential information in regard to the results of any tests administered following a motor vehicle accident which reveal the alcohol or drug content in such operator's body.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7280
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEINSTEIN -- (at request of the Office of Court
Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to waiver
of privileged confidential information
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 4504 of the civil practice law
2 and rules, as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 1993, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 (a) Confidential information privileged. Unless the patient waives the
5 privilege, a person authorized to practice medicine, registered profes-
6 sional nursing, licensed practical nursing, dentistry, podiatry or
7 chiropractic shall not be allowed to disclose any information which he
8 or she acquired in attending a patient in a professional capacity, and
9 which was necessary to enable him or her to act in that capacity. The
10 relationship of a physician and patient shall exist between a medical
11 corporation, as defined in article forty-four of the public health law,
12 a professional service corporation organized under article fifteen of
13 the business corporation law to practice medicine, a university faculty
14 practice corporation organized under section fourteen hundred twelve of
15 the not-for-profit corporation law to practice medicine or dentistry,
16 and the patients to whom they respectively render professional medical
17 services.
18 For the exclusive purpose of use in a civil action, an operator of a
19 motor vehicle in this state shall be deemed to have waived this privi-
20 lege in regard to the results of any tests administered following a
21 motor vehicle accident which reveal the alcohol or drug contents in such
22 operator's body. A patient who, for the purpose of obtaining insurance
23 benefits, authorizes the disclosure of any such privileged communication
24 to any person shall not be deemed to have waived the privilege created
25 by this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09759-02-3
A. 7280 2
1 1. "person" shall mean any individual, insurer or agent thereof, peer
2 review committee, public or private corporation, political subdivision,
3 government agency, department or bureau of the state, municipality,
4 industry, co-partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any other
5 legal entity whatsoever; and
6 2. "insurance benefits" shall include payments under a self-insured
7 plan.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
9 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to any
10 action commenced on or after such date.
