STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROLINE CASAGRANDE
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman NELSON T. ALBANO
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Wolfe, Assemblywoman Wagner, Assemblymen Chivukula and Milam
SYNOPSIS
Requires investigating law enforcement officer to contact next of kin of unconscious motor vehicle accident victim who has been transported to hospital emergency room.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning next of kin notification and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the primary investigating law enforcement agency investigating a motor vehicle accident shall ensure the timely notification of the victim's location to the victim's nest of kin, if the victim is transported to an emergency room of a medical facility and is unconscious or otherwise incapable of communication.
2. The primary investigating law enforcement agency shall be afforded total immunity from all liability if the department has adopted a standard operating procedure for the notification of next of kin. The primary investigating law enforcement agency shall incur no liability for failure to notify the next of kin.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill clarifies the notification responsibilities of law enforcement officers to contact the next of kin of unconscious motor vehicle accident victims who have been transported to hospital emergency rooms.
The primary investigating law enforcement agency investigating a motor vehicle accident is to notify the next of kin of the whereabouts of an accident victim who has been transported to the emergency room of a medical facility when that victim is unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate this information.