Bill Text: NY S06797 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits ex-parte interviews of other party's treating physicians or health care providers in personal injury, medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice, or wrongful death actions; relates to scope of disclosure for expert witnesses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S06797 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S06797-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6797
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      June 18, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
        AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to prohib-
          iting certain ex-parte interviews; in relation to the scope of disclo-
          sure of certain experts
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.    Section  3102  of  the  civil practice law and rules is
     2  amended by adding a new subdivision (c-1) to read as follows:
     3    (c-1) Ex-parte interviews. In any action  involving  personal  injury,
     4  medical, dental or podiatric malpractice, or wrongful death, no party or
     5  anyone  acting  on  behalf  of a party may either directly or indirectly
     6  conduct ex-parte interviews with the treating physicians or other health
     7  care providers of any other party.   Nothing in this  subdivision  shall
     8  prohibit an attorney or the agent or employee of an attorney who repres-
     9  ents  the  patient,  the  estate  of the patient, or the natural or duly
    10  appointed guardian of the patient whose condition is  at  issue  in  the
    11  action  from conducting ex-parte conversations with a treating physician
    12  or other health care provider of the patient.
    13    § 2.  Subparagraph (i) of paragraph 1 of subdivision  (d)  of  section
    14  3101  of  the civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 184 of
    15  the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
    16    (i) Upon request, each party shall identify each person whom the party
    17  expects to call as an expert witness at  trial  and  shall  disclose  in
    18  reasonable detail the subject matter on which each expert is expected to
    19  testify, the substance of the facts and opinions on which each expert is
    20  expected  to  testify,  the  qualifications of each expert witness and a
    21  summary of the grounds for each expert's opinion. However, where a party
    22  for good cause shown retains an expert an insufficient  period  of  time
    23  before the commencement of trial to give appropriate notice thereof, the
    24  party  shall  not  thereupon  be precluded from introducing the expert's
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02829-03-7
        S. 6797                             2
     1  testimony at the trial solely on  grounds  of  noncompliance  with  this
     2  paragraph. In that instance, upon motion of any party, made before or at
     3  trial,  or  on its own initiative, the court may make whatever order may
     4  be  just.  In  an action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice, a
     5  party, in responding to a request,  [may  omit  the  names  of  medical,
     6  dental  or  podiatric  experts  but]  shall  be required to disclose all
     7  [other] information concerning such experts otherwise required  by  this
     8  paragraph.
     9    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    10  have become a law and shall apply  to  all  actions  involving  personal
    11  injury,  medical,  dental  or  podiatric  malpractice, or wrongful death
    12  filed on and after such date and to all such  actions  pending  on  such
    13  effective  date  except  as to conduct prohibited by section one of this
    14  act which occurred prior to such effective date.