Last spring, when New York was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, we published a series of columns focusing on two issues affecting malpractice litigation that flowed directly from the state’s response—immunity to health care professionals and facilities, and the toll on the statute of limitations. See Thomas A. Moore and Matthew Gaier, COVID-19: Gov. Cuomo’s Executive Order and Other Legal Measures, NYLJ (March 31, 2020) p. 3; COVID-19 Legal Measures: An Addendum, NYLJ (April 8, 2020) p. 3; Toll on Statutes of Limitations During COVID-19 Emergency, NYLJ (June 2, 2020) p. 3. Both of those matters have undergone modifications over the past year. Those changes and their impact are the subject of this column.

The initial state-wide immunity related to the COVID-19 pandemic came in the form of an executive order from the governor. Effective March 23, 2020, Executive Order 202.10, among other measures, expanded the protections of the Good Samaritan laws—Education Law §§6527(2) and 6545(1)—to provide immunity to several categories of medical professionals “from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been sustained directly as a result of an act or omission by such medical professional in the course of providing medical services in support of the State’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, unless it is established that such injury or death was caused by the gross negligence of such medical professional.” It also provided “absolute immunity from liability for any failure to comply with any record keeping requirement … .” Both of those immunity provisions remained in effect until May 8, 2020, when they were terminated by Executive Order 202.28.

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