26:13-13 - Orders to submit specimen for diagnostic purposes
26:13-13 Orders to submit specimen for diagnostic purposes.
13. a. During a state of public health emergency, the commissioner may issue and enforce orders to any person to submit a specimen for physical examinations or tests as may be necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of individuals to prevent the spread of a contagious or possibly contagious disease, except where such actions are reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the affected person, and to conduct an investigation as authorized under section 5 of this act.
b.Any person subject to an order to submit a specimen or for physical examination may request a hearing in the Superior Court to contest such order. The commissioner shall provide notice of the right to contest the order. The court may proceed in a summary manner. At the hearing, the burden of proof shall be on the commissioner to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the person poses a threat to the public health and that the order issued by the commissioner is warranted to address such threat.
c.The commissioner may issue and enforce orders for the isolation or quarantine, pursuant to section 15 of this act, of any person whose refusal of medical examination or testing, or the inability to conduct such medical examination or testing due to the reasonable likelihood of serious harm caused to the person thereby, results in uncertainty regarding whether the person has been exposed to or is infected with a contagious or possibly contagious disease or otherwise poses a danger to public health.
L.2005,c.222,s.13.