The Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act was enacted in April 2020 at the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. At least fifteen states passed some form of liability protection for health care workers and institutions in the wake of the pandemic. New York lawmakers voted nearly unanimously (149-1) last month to repeal the portion of the law that offered protection from both civil and criminal liability. These laws remain controversial.
Nursing homes and their staff are among those affected by the repeal, which went into immediate effect upon signing, or April 6, 2021, per Law360.
Nursing homes will be vulnerable to COVID-19 related lawsuits on a going forward basis, however, the repeal is not retroactive, leaving in place protections for incidents that occurred during the period that the law was in effect.
Nursing home and elder care advocates have celebrated the repeal as a restoration of the rights that protect nursing home residents from abuse or neglect.
On the other hand, the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Greater New York Health Care Facilities Association have strongly opposed the repeal, according to ABC News.
This action may trigger a trend in states repealing COVID-19 legal protections for health care workers and/or institutions, but given the circumstances unique to New York and Governor Cuomo, the action may prove to be an outlier.
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