NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8323

Senate Bill S8323

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Provides that certain communications between a claimant's attorney or representative and an injured employee's treating provider or a claimant's medical consultant are not improper influence

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 26, 2024	advanced to third reading
Feb 14, 2024	2nd report cal.
Feb 13, 2024	1st report cal.442
Jan 18, 2024	referred to labor

Votes

- Feb 13, 2024 - Labor Committee Vote
  S8323
  
  10
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  3
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Labor Committee Vote: Feb 13, 2024
      
      aye (10)
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gounardes
      
      Jackson
      
      Mattera
      
      Mayer
      
      Ramos
      
      Ryan
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Scarcella-Spanton
      
      Skoufis
      
      aye wr (3)
      
      Martins
      
      Oberacker
      
      Rhoads

co-Sponsors

2023-S8323 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8957
Law Section:: Workers' Compensation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §13-a, Work Comp L

2023-S8323 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that certain communications between a claimant's attorney or representative and an injured employee's treating provider or a claimant's medical consultant are not improper influence or an attempt to improperly influence.

2023-S8323 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8323

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to communi-
cations between a claimant's attorney or representative and an injured
employee's treating provider or a claimant's medical consultant

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that claimants' counsel and repre-
sentatives can communicate with their clients' providers/consultants,
without fear of having their provider's/consultant's opinion precluded.
This will also ensure that medical providers can prepare for, and testi-
fy, in a more informed and expeditious fashion, to better focus their
time on providing injured workers with medical care.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends the workers' compensation law by amending subdivision
6 of section 13-a to allow claimant attorneys or representatives to

communicate with claimants' medical providers.

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill aims to remove the undue limitations that the Workers' Compen-
sation Board has placed on claimants' counsel/representative's ability
to communicate with their client's treating medical providers or medical
consultants.

The Board's policy regarding claimant communication with providers
extends well beyond the concern of improper influence set forth in WCL
Section 1 3-a(6). The Board's policy prohibits claimants'
counsel/representatives from having any verbal communication with
atreating provider (orclaimants' medical consultant),outsideof the
presenceof the carrier/carrier's representative. It calls for the dimin-
ishment or complete preclusion of a claimant's medical opinion for any
verbal communication by claimant's counsel/representative outside the
presence of the carrier, no matter the nature of the communication.  It
requires every written communication by claimants'
counsel/representative to a treating provider (or claimant's medical
consultant) to be copied to the carrier, no matter the nature of the
communication. It presumes that contact by a claimant's attorney or
representative, that does not include the carrier or carrier's represen-
tative, was done with the purpose of improperly influencing the treating
provider or claimant's medical consultant. The Board's policy signif-
icantly hinders a claimant's ability to investigate the opinion of the
treating physician or claimant's consultant, to properly determine the
viability of a claim, and to prepare for litigation. The Board's policy
interferes with an attorney's ethical obligations to zealously represent
their client and to only pursue claims that have merit.

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S8323 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8323
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 18, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation  to  communi-
   cations between a claimant's attorney or representative and an injured
   employee's treating provider or a claimant's medical consultant

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 13-a of the work-
 ers' compensation law, as amended by section 8 of part CC of chapter  55
 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  Any  interference  by any person with the selection by an injured
 employee of an authorized  physician  to  treat  him,  except  when  the
 selection  is  made  pursuant  to article ten-A of this chapter, and the
 improper influencing or attempt by any person  improperly  to  influence
 the  medical  opinion  of  any  physician who has treated or examined an
 injured employee, shall be a misdemeanor;  provided,  however,  that  it
 shall not constitute interference or improper influence if, in the pres-
 ence  of  such injured employee's physician, an employer, his carrier or
 agent should recommend or provide information concerning  rehabilitation
 services or the availability thereof to an injured employee or his fami-
 ly.  IT SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE IMPROPER INFLUENCE OR AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROP-
 ERLY  INFLUENCE IF A CLAIMANT'S ATTORNEY OR REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNICATES,
 VERBALLY OR IN WRITING, WITH AN INJURED EMPLOYEE'S TREATING PROVIDER  OR
 A CLAIMANT'S MEDICAL CONSULTANT. SUCH COMMUNICATION SHALL NOT SERVE AS A
 BASIS  TO  DIMINISH  OR PRECLUDE THE OPINION OF THE TREATING PROVIDER OR
 CLAIMANT'S CONSULTANT. IT SHALL NOT BE PRESUMED THAT A CLAIMANT'S ATTOR-
 NEY OR REPRESENTATIVE'S COMMUNICATION WITH THE INJURED EMPLOYEE'S TREAT-
 ING PROVIDER OR CLAIMANT'S MEDICAL CONSULTANT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO  IMPROP-
 ERLY INFLUENCE THE TREATING PROVIDER OR MEDICAL CONSULTANT.
   § 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13516-01-3

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Senate Bill S8323

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Sponsored By

Jessica Ramos