DIEGNAN MEASURE STEMMING FROM TRAGEDY SURROUNDING DEATH OF EDISON WOMAN NOW LAW (SOUTH PLAINFIELD) – Legislation sponsored by Assembly Deputy Speaker Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. to make it easier for families to provide information about and request an autopsy of a relative who dies in places such as a group home has been signed into law. The bill stems from the plight of the family of an Edison woman, Danielle Gruskowski, who had Rhett Syndrome and died in a group home. Because the family was not provided with proper access to the medical examiner, they were unable to request an autopsy to determine whether abuse or neglect were factors in Danielle’s death. “This new law will make sure unacceptable situations like this never happen again,” said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). “It’s tragic enough when a family dies, and I see no reason why that tragedy should be exacerbated by bureaucratic red tape. That won’t happen anymore.” The law (A-370) requires that, when a person residing in settings such as a licensed long-term care facility, a state or county psychiatric hospital or a facility for persons with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury dies, the county medical examiner must make every effort to contact the resident’s family to notify them of the death. The family must then have the opportunity to provide the medical examiner with information it deems relevant to the circumstances of the death and whether there is a need to perform an autopsy. “Every practicable effort should be made to adhere to a family’s wishes when it comes to finding out how and why a relative in such settings may have died,” Diegnan said. “It’s the moral and respectful thing to do and this new law ensures it will always happen.” Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} On the Net: www.assemblydems.com NJ Assembly Democrats on YouTube NJ Assembly Democrats on Vimeo NJ Assembly Democrats on Facebook NJ Assembly Democrats on Twitter NJ Assembly Democrats on Flickr Sign up for NJ Assembly Dem e-mail alerts