S 7474: Establishes a cause of action for medical monitoring for a person with or without a present injury or disease; establishes a statute of limitation for such cause of action.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7474 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, MAY -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the civil prac- tice law and rules, in relation to establishing a cause of action for medical monitoring The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 37-0116 to read as follows: 3 § 37-0116. Cause of action for medical monitoring. 4 1. For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the 5 following meanings: 6 (a) "exposure" shall have the same meaning set forth in section two 7 hundred fourteen-c of the civil practice law and rules. 8 (b) "toxic substance" shall mean: 9 (i) any chemical or biological substance that poses a risk to human 10 health as defined by the commissioner pursuant to section 37-0103 of 11 this title; 12 (ii) any substance categorized as toxic or hazardous by the United 13 States environmental protection agency or the United States agency for 14 toxic substance and disease registry shall be a hazardous or toxic 15 substance; and 16 (iii) any substance not so characterized may be proven to be toxic by 17 a preponderance of the evidence. 18 (c) "release" shall mean any intentional or unintentional, permitted 19 or unpermitted, act or omission that allows a toxic substance to enter 20 the air, land, surface water, groundwater, or any other place where the 21 toxic substance may be located. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09317-01-5 
 S. 7474 2 1 (d) "medical monitoring" shall mean a program of medical surveillance, 2 including medical tests or procedures for the purpose of early detection 3 of signs or symptoms of latent disease resulting from exposure. 4 (e) "latent disease" shall mean any condition that negatively affects 5 human health by causing death or permanent or protracted loss of mental 6 or physical function which a person has a significantly increased risk 7 of contracting. 8 (f) "reasonably necessary" shall mean the standard whereby a physician 9 would prescribe testing for the purpose of detecting or monitoring the 10 latent disease. 11 (g) "person" shall mean an individual, firm, corporation, association, 12 partnership, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, federal 13 government, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision, or 14 any interstate body. 15 2. A person with or without a present injury or disease shall have a 16 cause of action for medical monitoring damages against a person who 17 released a toxic substance if all of the following are demonstrated by a 18 preponderance of the evidence: 19 (a) the person may have been exposed to the toxic substance as a 20 result of the unauthorized release by the person who released the toxic 21 substance; 22 (b) there is a probable link between exposure to the toxic substance 23 and a latent disease; 24 (c) the person's exposure to the toxic substance increases the risk of 25 developing the latent disease, provided that such person shall not be 26 required to prove that the latent disease is certain or likely to devel- 27 op as a result of the exposure; 28 (d) diagnostic testing is reasonably necessary; and 29 (e) medical tests or procedures exist to detect the latent disease. 30 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the pursuit 31 of any other civil or injunctive remedy available under statute or 32 common law, including the right of any person to recover for damages 33 related to the manifestation of a latent disease. The remedies in this 34 section are in addition to those provided by existing statutory or 35 common law. 36 4. This section does not preclude a court from certifying a class 37 action for medical monitoring damages. 38 § 2. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new 39 section 214-k to read as follows: 40 § 214-k. Cause of action for medical monitoring. Notwithstanding any 41 provision of law to the contrary, a cause of action for medical monitor- 42 ing pursuant to section 37-0116 of the environmental conservation law, 43 may be commenced by the plaintiff within the period allowed pursuant to 44 section two hundred fourteen-c of this article or within one year of the 45 effective date of this section. 46 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.