A. A health-care provider or health-care institution that intentionally violates the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act is subject to liability to the aggrieved individual for damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or actual damages resulting from the violation, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees.
B. A person who intentionally falsifies, forges, conceals, defaces or obliterates an individual's advance health-care directive or a revocation of an advance health-care directive without the individual's consent or a person who coerces or fraudulently induces an individual to give, revoke or not give or revoke an advance health-care directive is subject to liability to that individual for damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or actual damages resulting from the action, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees.
C. The damages provided in this section are in addition to other types of relief available under other law, including civil and criminal law and law providing for disciplinary procedures.
History: Laws 1995, ch. 182, § 10; 1997, ch. 168, § 6.
The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, inserted "health-care" preceding "institution" in Subsection A; substituted "five thousand dollars ($5,000)" for "two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)" in Subsections A and B; and made stylistic changes.
Structure New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 24 - Health and Safety
Article 7A - Uniform Health-Care Decisions
Section 24-7A-1 - Definitions.
Section 24-7A-2 - Advance health-care directives.
Section 24-7A-2.1 - Prohibited practice.
Section 24-7A-3 - Revocation of advance health-care directive.
Section 24-7A-4 - Optional form.
Section 24-7A-5 - Decisions by surrogate.
Section 24-7A-6 - Decisions by guardian.
Section 24-7A-6.1 - Life-sustaining treatment for unemancipated minors.
Section 24-7A-6.2 - Consent to health care for certain minors fourteen years of age or older.
Section 24-7A-7 - Obligations of health-care practitioner.
Section 24-7A-8 - Health-care information.
Section 24-7A-10 - Statutory damages.
Section 24-7A-12 - Effect of copy.
Section 24-7A-13 - Effect of the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act.
Section 24-7A-14 - Judicial relief.
Section 24-7A-15 - Uniformity of application and construction.
Section 24-7A-16 - Transitional provisions.