Delaware § 2524 - Prohibited conduct; damages.

§ 2524. Prohibited conduct; damages.

(a) A person may not do any of the following:

(1) Intentionally falsify, in whole or in part, an advance health-care directive.

(2) Intentionally conceal, deface, obliterate, or delete the directive or a revocation of the directive without consent of the individual who created or revoked the directive for the purpose of frustrating the intent of the individual who created an advance health-care directive or with knowledge that doing so is likely to frustrate the intent.

(3) Intentionally withhold knowledge of the existence or revocation of the directive from a responsible health-care professional or health-care institution providing health care to the individual who created or revoked the directive for the purpose of frustrating the intent of the individual who created an advance health-care directive or with knowledge that doing so is likely to frustrate the intent.

(4) Coerce or fraudulently induce an individual to create, revoke, or refrain from creating or revoking an advance health-care directive or a part of a directive.

(5) Require or prohibit the creation or revocation of an advance health-care directive as a condition for providing health care.

(b) An individual who is the subject of conduct prohibited under subsection (a) of this section, or the individual’s estate, has a cause of action against a person that violates subsection (a) of this section for statutory damages of $25,000 or actual damages resulting from the violation, whichever is greater.

(c) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, an individual who makes a health-care instruction, or the individual’s estate, has a cause of action against a health-care professional or health-care institution that intentionally violates § 2521 of this title for statutory damages of $50,000 or actual damages resulting from the violation, whichever is greater.

(d) A health-care professional who is an advanced emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician, paramedic, or other first responder authorized under Chapter 97 of this title is not liable under subsection (c) of this section for a violation of § 2521(e) of this title if all of the following:

(1) The violation occurs in the course of providing care to an individual experiencing a health condition for which the professional reasonably believes the care was appropriate to avoid imminent loss of life or serious harm to the individual.

(2) The failure to comply is consistent with accepted standards of the profession of the professional.

(3) The provision of care does not begin in a health-care institution in which the individual resides or was receiving care.

(e) In an action under this section, a prevailing plaintiff may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs, and other reasonable litigation expenses.

(f) A cause of action or remedy under this section is in addition to any cause of action or remedy under other law.

63 Del. Laws, c. 386, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 392, §§  3, 6;  84 Del. Laws, c. 467, § 1;