§ 2994-R — Special proceeding authorized; court orders; health care guardian for minor patient

§ 2994-r. Special proceeding authorized; court orders; health care\nguardian for minor patient. 1. Special proceeding. Any person connected\nwith the case and any member of the hospital ethics review committee may\ncommence a special proceeding pursuant to article four of the civil\npractice law and rules in a court of competent jurisdiction with respect\nto any matter arising under this article.\n 2. Court orders designating surrogate. A court of competent\njurisdiction may designate any individual from the surrogate list to act\nas surrogate, regardless of that individual's priority on the list, if\nthe court determines that such appointment would best accord with the\npatient's wishes or, if the patient's wishes are not reasonably known,\nwith the patient's best interests. The court may remove a surrogate on\nthe ground that the surrogate: (a) is not reasonably available, willing\nand competent to fulfill his or her obligations under this article; (b)\nis acting in bad faith; or (c) is the subject of an order of protection\nprotecting the patient or has been arrested or charged for a criminal\nact that allegedly caused the patient's lack of capacity or\nsubstantially injured or impaired the health status of the patient,\nprovided that the application of this provision in a particular case may\nbe waived or modified in the interest of justice. Unless otherwise\ndetermined by a court, no surrogate decision made prior to an order\ndesignating a surrogate shall be deemed to have been invalid because of\nthe issuance of a designating order.\n 3. Court orders to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. A\ncourt of competent jurisdiction may authorize the withholding or\nwithdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a person if the court\ndetermines that the person lacks decision-making capacity, and\nwithdrawing or withholding the treatment would accord with the standards\nset forth in subdivision five of section twenty-nine hundred\nninety-four-d of this article.\n 4. Health care guardian for a minor patient. (a) No appointment shall\nbe made pursuant to this subdivision if a parent or legal guardian of\nthe person is available, willing, and competent to decide about\ntreatment for the minor.\n (b) The following persons may commence a special proceeding in a court\nof competent jurisdiction to seek appointment as the health care\nguardian of a minor patient solely for the purpose of deciding about\nlife-sustaining treatment pursuant to this article:\n (i) the hospital administrator;\n (ii) an attending practitioner;\n (iii) the local commissioner of social services or the local\ncommissioner of health, authorized to make medical treatment decisions\nfor the minor pursuant to section three hundred eighty-three-b of the\nsocial services law; or\n (iv) an individual, eighteen years of age or older, who has assumed\ncare of the minor for a substantial and continuous period of time.\n (c) Notice of the proceeding shall be given to the persons identified\nin section seventeen hundred five of the surrogate's court procedure\nact.\n (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, seeking appointment or\nbeing appointed as a health care guardian shall not otherwise affect the\nlegal status or rights of the individual seeking or obtaining such\nappointment.\n