Establishes the crime of criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with a disability as a class A misdemeanor; consists of a caregiver who knowingly acts in a manner likely to cause the person's life to be endangered, health to be injured, or pre-existing physical or mental condition to deteriorate; or fails to perform acts which he or she knows or reasonably should know are necessary to maintain or preserve the life or health of the person and such failure causes said person's life to be endangered, health to be injured or condition to deteriorate; or knowingly abandons said person; provides for a defense and for preservation of other remedies.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
138
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2009
___________
Introduced by Sen. SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with a
disability
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new article 261 to
2 read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 261
4 CRIMINAL NEGLECT OF A VULNERABLE ELDERLY PERSON
5 OR A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY
6 Section 261.00 Definitions.
7 261.05 Criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a
8 person with a disability.
9 261.10 Criminal neglect: defense.
10 261.15 Other available remedies.
11 § 261.00 Definitions.
12 As used in this article, the following definitions shall apply:
13 1. "Vulnerable elderly person" means a person sixty years of age or
14 older who is suffering from a disease or infirmity associated with
15 advanced age.
16 2. "Person with a disability" means a person who has a physical,
17 mental or medical impairment resulting from anatomical, physiological,
18 or neurological conditions that prevent the exercise of a normal bodily
19 function or that substantially impair cognitive function, and include
20 but is not limited to, impairments requiring the use of an artificial
21 device to move, walk, see, hear, or breathe, such as a wheelchair, brac-
22 es, crutches, respirator, or other supportive equipment, or use of a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02031-01-9
S. 138 2
1 guide dog or other guiding device, and which renders such person incapa-
2 ble of adequately providing for his or her own health and personal care.
3 3. "Caregiver" means a person who provides for the health and personal
4 care of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with a disability, at
5 such person's place of residence, including but not limited to, food and
6 nutrition, shelter, hygiene, prescribed medication and medical care or
7 treatment.
8 Caregiver shall include:
9 (a) a parent, spouse, adult child or other relative by blood or
10 marriage who resides with or resides in the same building with and who
11 regularly visits the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a
12 disability, and who knows or reasonably should know of such person's
13 physical or mental impairment and knows or reasonably should know that
14 such person is unable to adequately provide for his or her own health
15 and personal care;
16 (b) a person employed by the vulnerable elderly person or a person
17 with a disability or by another to reside with or regularly visit the
18 vulnerable elderly person or the person with a disability and provide
19 for such person's health and personal care;
20 (c) a person who has agreed for consideration to reside with or regu-
21 larly visit the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a disabili-
22 ty and provide for such person's health and personal care;
23 (d) a person who has been appointed by a private or public agency or
24 by a court of competent jurisdiction to provide for the health and
25 personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a
26 disability; and
27 (e) a person who holds a power of attorney or other legal or fiduciary
28 relationship that requires such person to provide for the health and
29 personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a
30 disability.
31 Caregiver shall not include a long-term health care facility licensed
32 or certified under the provisions of the public health law or any admin-
33 istrative, medical or other personnel of such a facility, or a health
34 care provider who is licensed under the education law and renders care
35 in the ordinary course of his or her profession.
36 4. "Abandon" means to desert a vulnerable elderly person with intent
37 to wholly abandon him or her.
38 § 261.05 Criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a person
39 with a disability.
40 A person is guilty of criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person
41 or a person with a disability when he or she is a caregiver and:
42 1. Knowingly acts in a manner likely to cause the vulnerable elderly
43 person or the person with a disability's life to be endangered, health
44 to be injured, or pre-existing physical or mental condition to deteri-
45 orate; or
46 2. Fails to perform acts which he or she knows or reasonably should
47 know are necessary to maintain or preserve the life or health of the
48 vulnerable elderly person or the person with a disability and such fail-
49 ure causes said person's life to be endangered, health to be injured or
50 pre-existing physical or mental condition to deteriorate; or
51 3. Abandons the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a disa-
52 bility.
53 Criminal neglect of a vulnerable elderly person or a person with a
54 disability is a class A misdemeanor.
55 § 261.10 Criminal neglect: defense.
S. 138 3
1 1. No provision of this article shall be deemed to impose criminal
2 liability upon any person who has made a good faith effort to provide
3 for the health and personal care of the vulnerable elderly person or the
4 person with a disability but through no fault of his or her own has been
5 unable to provide such care.
6 2. No provision of this article shall be construed as prohibiting a
7 person from providing treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone
8 and care consistent therewith in lieu of medical care and treatment in
9 accordance with the tenets and practices of any church or religious
10 denomination of which the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a
11 disability is a member.
12 § 261.15 Other available remedies.
13 No provision of this article shall be construed to limit the remedies
14 available to the vulnerable elderly person or the person with a disabil-
15 ity under any other provision of law.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
17 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
