N.Y. Public Health Law Section 2801-D
Private actions by patients of residential health care facilities


1.

Any residential health care facility that deprives any patient of said facility of any right or benefit, as hereinafter defined, shall be liable to said patient for injuries suffered as a result of said deprivation, except as hereinafter provided. For purposes of this section a “right or benefit” of a patient of a residential health care facility shall mean any right or benefit created or established for the well-being of the patient by the terms of any contract, by any state statute, code, rule or regulation or by any applicable federal statute, code, rule or regulation, where noncompliance by said facility with such statute, code, rule or regulation has not been expressly authorized by the appropriate governmental authority. No person who pleads and proves, as an affirmative defense, that the facility exercised all care reasonably necessary to prevent and limit the deprivation and injury for which liability is asserted shall be liable under this section. For the purposes of this section, “injury” shall include, but not be limited to, physical harm to a patient; emotional harm to a patient; death of a patient; and financial loss to a patient.

2.

Upon a finding that a patient has been deprived of a right or benefit and that said patient has been injured as a result of said deprivation, and unless there is a finding that the facility exercised all care reasonably necessary to prevent and limit the deprivation and injury to the patient, compensatory damages shall be assessed in an amount sufficient to compensate such patient for such injury, but in no event less than twenty-five percent of the daily per-patient rate of payment established for the residential health care facility under § 2807 (Hospital reimbursement provisions)section twenty-eight hundred seven of this article or, in the case of a residential health care facility not having such an established rate, the average daily total charges per patient for said facility, for each day that such injury exists. In addition, where the deprivation of any such right or benefit is found to have been willful or in reckless disregard of the lawful rights of the patient, punitive damages may be assessed.

3.

A patient residing in a residential health care facility may also maintain an action pursuant to this section for any other type of relief, including injunctive and declaratory relief, permitted by law.

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 § 2803-C (Rights of patients in certain medical facilities)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.

5.

The amount of any damages recovered by a patient, in an action brought pursuant to this section shall be exempt for purposes of determining initial or continuing eligibility for medical assistance under title eleven of article five of the social services law and shall neither be taken into consideration nor required to be applied toward the payment or part payment of the cost of medical care or services available under said title eleven.

6.

If judgment in an action maintained under this section is rendered in favor of the plaintiff, in its discretion the court may, if justice requires, award attorneys’ fees to the plaintiff based on the reasonable value of legal services rendered and payable by the defendant.

7.

Any waiver by a patient or his legal representative of the right to commence an action under this section, whether oral or in writing, shall be null and void and without legal force or effect.

8.

Any party to an action brought under this section shall be entitled to a trial by jury and any waiver of the right to a trial by a jury, whether oral or in writing, prior to the commencement of an action, shall be null and void, and without legal force or effect.

9.

No insurance premium or part thereof paid by any residential health care facility which is attributable solely to insurance against liability pursuant to this section shall be allowed as a reimbursable cost for purposes of any proposed rate schedule for payments for hospital or health-related service which the commissioner shall determine and certify pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred seven of this chapter.

10.

a. No person shall discriminate against any patient of a residential health care facility because such patient, or the patient’s legal representative, has brought or caused to be brought any action pursuant to this section, or against any patient or employee of a residential health care facility because such patient or employee has given or provided or is to give or provide testimony or other evidence for purposes of such action.

b.

Any patient who has reason to believe that he or she may have been discriminated against in violation of this subdivision may, within thirty days after such alleged violation occurs, file a complaint with the commissioner. The commissioner shall investigate any such complaint, and shall, if such complaint is deemed meritorious, serve upon the administrator of the subject facility, in his capacity as a representative of the facility, either by personal service or by certified mail addressed to the administrator in care of the facility, return receipt requested, a complaint stating the substance of the alleged discrimination with reasonable particularity. A hearing shall be conducted in accordance with § 12-A (Formal hearings)section twelve-a of this chapter within thirty days of the service of such complaint. The hearing officer shall make a report of his findings to the commissioner, who, if he determines that a violation of this subdivision has occurred, may grant whatever relief is necessary and appropriate to remedy the violation, including, but not limited to readmittance of patients wrongfully discharged. Any such order of the commissioner shall be appealable by a proceeding under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.

c.

Whenever the commissioner has issued an order as provided in this subdivision he may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of such order.

d.

Any action taken by the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall not be exclusive, and may be taken in conjunction with an action for a civil penalty for a violation of paragraph a of this subdivision, or any private civil action brought by an injured party, or both.

e.

Any employee who has reason to believe that he or she may have been discriminated against in violation of this subdivision may bring a proceeding in accordance with the provisions of article fifteen of the executive law.

Source: Section 2801-D — Private actions by patients of residential health care facilities, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2801-D (updated Aug. 19, 2022; accessed Mar. 23, 2024).

2800
Declaration of policy and statement of purpose
2801
Definitions
2801–A
Establishment or incorporation of hospitals
2801–B
Improper practices in hospital staff appointments and extension of professional privileges prohibited
2801–C
Injunctions
2801–D
Private actions by patients of residential health care facilities
2801–E
Voluntary residential health care facility rightsizing demonstration program
2801–F
Residential health care facility quality incentive payment program
2801–G
Community forum on hospital closure
2801–H
Personal caregiving and compassionate caregiving visitors to nursing home residents during declared local or state health emergencies
2802
Approval of construction
2802–A
Transitional care unit demonstration program
2802–B
Health equity impact assessments
2803
Commissioner and council
2803–A
Authority to contract
2803–AA
Sickle cell disease information distribution
2803–AA*2
Nursing home infection control competency audit
2803–B
Uniform reports and accounting systems for hospital costs
2803–C
Rights of patients in certain medical facilities
2803–C–1
Rights of patients in certain medical facilities
2803–C–2
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and people living with HIV long-term care facility residents’ bill of rights
2803–D
Reporting abuses of persons receiving care or services in residential health care facilities
2803–E
Residential health care facilities
2803–E*2
Reporting incidents of possible professional misconduct
2803–F
Respite projects
2803–G
Board of visitors in county owned residential health care facility
2803–H
Health related facility
2803–I
General hospital inpatient discharge review program
2803–J
Information for maternity patients
2803–J*2
Nursing home nurse aide registry
2803–K
In-patient nasogastric feeding procedures
2803–L
Community service plans
2803–M
Discharge of hospital patients to adult homes
2803–N
Hospital care for maternity patients
2803–O
Hospital care for mastectomy, lumpectomy, and lymph node dissection patients
2803–O–1
Required protocols for fetal demise
2803–P
Disclosure of information concerning family violence
2803–Q
Family councils in residential health care facilities
2803–R
Dissemination of information about the abandoned infant protection act
2803–S
Access to product recall information
2803–T
Preadmission information
2803–U
Hospital substance use disorder policies and procedures
2803–V
Lymphedema information distribution
2803–V*2
Standing orders for newborn care in a hospital
2803–W
Independent quality monitors for residential health care facilities
2803–W*2
Disclosure of information concerning pregnancy complications
2803–X
Requirements related to nursing homes and related assets and operations
2803–Y
Provision of residency agreement
2803–Z
Transfer, discharge and voluntary discharge requirements for residential health care facilities
2803–Z*2
Antimicrobial resistance prevention and education
2804
Units for hospital and health-related affairs
2804–A
State task force on clinical practice guidelines and medical technology assessment
2805
Approval of hospitals
2805–A
Disclosure of financial transactions
2805–B
Admission of patients and emergency treatment of nonadmitted patients
2805–C
Every private proprietary nursing home having a capacity of eighty patients or more may have a licensed medical doctor in attendance, upo...
2805–D
Limitation of medical, dental or podiatric malpractice action based on lack of informed consent
2805–E
Reports of residential health care facilities
2805–F
Money deposited or advanced for admittance to nursing homes
2805–G
Maintenance of records
2805–H
Immunizations
2805–I
Treatment of sexual offense victims and maintenance of evidence in a sexual offense
2805–J
Medical, dental and podiatric malpractice prevention program
2805–K
Investigations prior to granting or renewing privileges
2805–L
Adverse event reporting
2805–M
Confidentiality
2805–N
Child abuse prevention
2805–O
Identification of veterans and their spouses by nursing homes, residential health care facilities, and adult care facilities
2805–P
Emergency treatment of rape survivors
2805–Q
Hospital visitation by domestic partner
2805–R
Patients unable to verbally communicate
2805–S
Circulating nurse required
2805–T
Clinical staffing committees and disclosure of nursing quality indicators
2805–U
Credentialing and privileging of health care practitioners providing telemedicine services
2805–V
Observation services
2805–W
Patient notice of observation services
2805–X
Hospital-home care-physician collaboration program
2805–Y
Identification and assessment of human trafficking victims
2805–Z
Hospital domestic violence policies and procedures
2806
Hospital operating certificates
2806–A
Temporary operator
2806–B
Residential health care facilities
2807
Hospital reimbursement provisions
2807–A
General hospital nineteen hundred eighty-six and nineteen hundred eighty-seven inpatient rates and charges
2807–AA
Nurse loan repayment program
2807–B
Outstanding payments and reports due under subdivision eighteen of section twenty-eight hundred seven-c, sections twenty-eight hundred se...
2807–C
General hospital inpatient reimbursement for annual rate periods beginning on or after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight
2807–D
Hospital assessments
2807–D–1
Hospital quality contributions
2807–DD
Temporary nursing home stability contributions
2807–E
Uniform bills
2807–F
Health maintenance organization payment factor
2807–I
Service and quality improvement grants
2807–J
Patient services payments
2807–K
General hospital indigent care pool
2807–L
Health care initiatives pool distributions
2807–M
Distribution of the professional education pools
2807–N
Palliative care education and training
2807–O
Early intervention services pool
2807–P
Comprehensive diagnostic and treatment centers indigent care program
2807–R
Funding for expansion of cancer services
2807–S
Professional education pool funding
2807–T
Assessments on covered lives
2807–U
Transfers for tax credits
2807–V
Tobacco control and insurance initiatives pool distributions
2807–W
High need indigent care adjustment pool
2807–X
Grants for long term care demonstration projects
2807–Y
Pool administration
2807–Z
Review of eligible federally qualified health center capital projects
2808
Residential health care facilities
2808–A
Liability of certain persons
2808–B
Certification of financial statements and financial information
2808–C
Reimbursement of general hospital inpatient services
2808–D
Nursing home quality improvement demonstration program
2808–E
Residential health care for children with medical fragility in transition to young adults and young adults with medical fragility demonst...
2808–E*2
Nursing home ratings
2809
Residential health care facilities
2810
Residential health care facilities
2811
Discounts and splitting fees with medical referral services
2812
Construction
2813
Separability
2814
Health networks, global budgeting, and health care demonstrations
2815
Health facility restructuring program
2815–A
Community health care revolving capital fund
2816
Statewide planning and research cooperative system
2816–A
Cardiac services information
2817
Community health centers capital program
2818
Health care efficiency and affordability law of New Yorkers (HEAL NY) capital grant program
2819
Hospital acquired infection reporting
2820
Home based primary care for the elderly demonstration project
2821
State electronic health records (EHR) loan program
2822
Residential care off-site facility demonstration project
2823
Supportive housing development program
2824
Central service technicians
2824*2
Surgical technology and surgical technologists
2825
Capital restructuring financing program
2825–A
Health care facility transformation program: Kings county project
2825–B
Oneida county health care facility transformation program: Oneida county project
2825–C
Essential health care provider support program
2825–D
Health care facility transformation program: statewide
2825–E
Health care facility transformation program: statewide II
2825–F
Health care facility transformation program: statewide III
2825–G
Health care facility transformation program: statewide IV
2825–H
Health care facility transformation program: statewide V
2826
Temporary adjustment to reimbursement rates
2827
Plant-based food options
2828
Residential health care facilities
2828*2
Essential support persons allowed for individuals with disabilities during a state of emergency
2829
Nursing homes
2830
Surgical smoke evacuation
2830*2
Regulation of the billing of facility fees

Accessed:
Mar. 23, 2024

Last modified:
Aug. 19, 2022

§ 2801-D’s source at nysenate​.gov

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