Senate Bill S7616

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7616

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to burn
injury reporting

 PURPOSE :

To require coroners and medical examiners to report under the Burn
Reporting Law and require all cases of burn injury caused by fireworks
or sparkling devices to be reported to the Office of Fire Prevention
and Control (OFPC).

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

This bill amends section 265.26 of the Penal Law to require coroners
and medical examiners to report burn victim fire deaths and require
all cases of burn injury caused by fireworks or sparkling devices to
be reported to OFPC.

 EXISTING LAW :

Currently, the law only requires the physician attending or treating
the case, or the manager, superintendent or other person in charge,
whenever such case is treated in a hospital, sanitarium, institution
or other medical facility, to report burn injuries. The law further
limits the reporting of the burn injury or wound to cases of second or
              

third degree burns to five percent or more of the body and/or any
burns to the upper respiratory tract or laryngeal edema due to the
inhalation of super-heated air, and every case of a burn injury or
wound which is likely to or may result in death.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

This proposal would require coroners and medical examiners who
directly handle fire/burn victims to report burn victim fire deaths.
There have been instances where deceased burn victims have been
transported directly to the morgue, and thus are not handled by a
physician or a hospital. This amendment will correct the loop hole in
the law where deceased burn victims are not being reported as burn
victim fire deaths.

Chapter 477 of the Laws of 2014 legalized certain fireworks, outside
the City of New York. Data produced by the U.S. Consumer Product and
Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) reveals that approximately 8,700 people ended up in hospital
emergency rooms for injuries related to consumer fireworks. It is
expected that New York State will experience an increase in fireworks
related burns as a result of the legalization of certain fireworks.
Currently, the criteria for reportable burn injuries (2nd or 3rd
degree greater than 5% of the body), including those caused by
fireworks, precludes New York State from compiling accurate data to
review product safety design, determine legal possession and use and
improve public safety education messaging.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

There are no budget implications for this bill.

 LOCAL IMPACT :

This bill will require reporting by the local mandatory reporters to
further public safety.
 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediate.