PRINTER'S NO. 3587
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2549
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY BOROWSKI, C. WILLIAMS, KHAN, HILL-EVANS, BRENNAN,
SCHLOSSBERG, PROBST, CURRY, MERSKI, GILLEN AND SANCHEZ,
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 16 (Counties) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, in coroner, providing for sudden unexpected death
3 in epilepsy.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 16 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 13921.1. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.
9 (a) Inquiry.--An autopsy conducted by a coroner in this
10 Commonwealth shall include an inquiry to determine whether the
11 death of the deceased individual was a direct result of a
12 seizure or epilepsy.
13 (b) Duties of coroner.--If the findings of the autopsy under
14 subsection (a) are consistent with known or suspected SUDEP, the
15 coroner shall:
16 (1) Cause to be indicated on the death certificate of
17 the deceased individual that SUDEP is the cause or suspected
18 cause of death.
 1 (2) Provide the next of kin of the deceased individual
2 with a form, developed and provided by the Department of
3 Health, which provides contact information for a third-party
4 entity that documents and analyzes SUDEP deaths in order to
5 reveal SUDEP risk factors and causes and develop preventive
6 measures.
7 (c) Applicability.--This section shall apply to counties of
8 the first class, second class, second class A, third class,
9 fourth class, fifth class, sixth class, seventh class and eighth
10 class.
11 (d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "sudden
12 unexpected death in epilepsy" or "SUDEP" shall refer to a death
13 in a patient previously diagnosed with epilepsy that is not due
14 to trauma, drowning, status epilepticus or other known causes
15 but for which there is often evidence of an associated seizure.
16 A finding of SUDEP is definite when clinical criteria are met
17 and an autopsy reveals no alternative cause of death, such as
18 stroke, myocardial infarction or drug intoxication, although
19 there may be evidence of a seizure.
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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