26B-5-509. Emergency, life saving treatment — Temporary personal representative.
(1)
When an individual receives emergency, life saving treatment:
Terms Used In Utah Code 26B-5-509
Relative: means an adult who is a spouse, parent, stepparent, grandparent, child, or sibling of an individual. See Utah Code 26B-5-501
Serious harm: means the individual, due to substance use disorder, is at serious risk of:
(a)
drug overdose;
(b)
suicide;
(c)
serious bodily self-injury;
(d)
serious bodily injury because the individual is incapable of providing the basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, or shelter; or
(e)
causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another individual. See Utah Code 26B-5-501
Substance use disorder: means the same as that term is defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. See Utah Code 26B-5-501
(a)
a licensed health care professional, at the health care facility where the emergency, life saving treatment is provided, may ask the individual who, if anyone, may be contacted and informed regarding the individual’s treatment;
(b)
a treating physician may hold the individual in the health care facility for up to 48 hours, if the treating physician determines that the individual poses a serious harm to self or others; and
(c)
a relative of the individual may petition a court to be designated as the individual’s personal representative, described in 45 C.F.R. § 164.502(g), for the limited purposes of the individual’s medical and mental health care related to a substance use disorder.
(2)
The petition described in Subsection (1)(c) shall include:
(a)
the respondent’s:
(i)
legal name;
(ii)
date of birth, if known;
(iii)
social security number, if known; and
(iv)
residence and current location, if known;
(b)
the petitioner’s relationship to the respondent;
(c)
the name and residence of the respondent’s legal guardian, if any and if known;
(d)
a statement that the respondent:
(i)
is suffering from a substance use disorder; and
(ii)
has received, within the last 72 hours, emergency, life saving treatment;
(e)
the factual basis for the statement described in Subsection (2)(d); and
(f)
the name of any other individual, if any, who may be designated as the respondent’s personal representative.
(3)
A court shall grant a petition for designation as a personal representative, ex parte, if it appears from the petition for designation as a court-designated personal representative that:
(a)
the respondent is suffering from a substance use disorder;
(b)
the respondent received emergency, life saving treatment within 10 days before the day on which the petition for designation as a personal representative is filed;
(c)
the petitioner is a relative of the respondent; and
(d)
no other individual is otherwise designated as the respondent’s personal representative.
(4)
When a court grants, ex parte, a petition for designation as a personal representative, the court:
(a)
shall provide notice to the respondent;
(b)
shall order the petitioner to be the respondent’s personal representative for 10 days after the day on which the court designates the petitioner as the respondent’s personal representative; and
(c)
may extend the duration of the order:
(i)
for good cause shown, after the respondent has been notified and given a proper and sufficient opportunity to respond; or
(ii)
if the respondent consents to an extension.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 308, 2023 General Session
