4:86-12. Special Medical Guardian in General Equity
(a) Standards. On the application of a hospital, nursing home, treating physician, relative or other appropriate person under the circumstances, the court may appoint a special guardian of the person of a patient to act for the patient respecting medical treatment consistent with the court's order, if it finds that:
(1) the patient is incapacitated, unconscious, underage or otherwise unable to consent to medical treatment;
(2) no general or natural guardian is immediately available who will consent to the rendering of medical treatment;
(3) the prompt rendering of medical treatment is necessary in order to deal with a substantial threat to the patient's life or health; and
(4) the patient has not designated a health care representative or executed a health care instruction directive pursuant to the New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-53 to -78, determining the treatment question in issue.
(b) Venue. The application shall be made to the Superior Court judge assigned to general equity in the vicinage in which the patient is physically located when the application is made and, in the event of that judge's unavailability, to the Assignment Judge of the vicinage or the judge designated as the emergent judge, or if neither is available, any judge in the vicinage.
(c) Procedure. The procedure on the application shall conform as nearly as practicable to the requirements of R. 4:86-1 to R. 4:86-6, but the judge may, if the circumstances require, accept an oral complaint and oral testimony either by telephone, in court, or at any other suitable location. If the circumstances do not permit the making of a verbatim record, the judge shall make detailed notes of the allegations of the complaint and the supporting testimony. Whenever possible an attorney shall be appointed to represent the patient.
(d) Order. The order granting the application, if orally rendered, shall be reduced to writing as promptly as possible and shall recite the findings on which it is based.
Note: Adopted November 1, 1985 to be effective January 2, 1986; paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of former R. 4:83-12 amended and rule redesignated June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990; paragraph (a) amended July 14, 1992 to be effective September 1, 1992; paragraph (a)(1) amended July 12, 2002 to be effective September 3, 2002; caption and paragraph (a)(1) amended July 9, 2008 to be effective September 1, 2008.
