BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION: QUARANTINE

Transcription

1 BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION: QUARANTINE 75

2 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF (COUNTY) COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA (COUNTY) COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT : Plaintiff : v. : : (DEFENDANT) : Defendant : GD-(DOCKET NO.) PLAINTIFF S BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Background On (Report Date) the (County) County Health Department personnel were notified that (Defendant) ( Defendant ) was exposed to a person infected with a virulent communicable disease. (Attached hereto as Exhibit A. ) The (County) County Health Department has determined that (Disease) is highly communicable, and cannot determine at this time whether the Defendant is infected and contagious. However, spread of (Disease) is best prevented by remanding suspected exposed individuals to quarantine for (Incubation Period Days) days to protect the public s health until such time that Defendant s (Disease) either fails to develop or (he/she) is no longer contagious. On (Report Date) the (County) County Health Department contacted Defendant to inform (him/her) that (he/she) had been exposed to a highly virulent communicable disease and that (he/she) is likely to have been exposed to a person infected with (Disease). Because Defendant s disease status is currently unknown, (he/she) constitutes a significant threat to the public s health if permitted to remain in the community. On (Order Date) the (County) County Health Department ordered Defendant to immediately report to (Location) for quarantine until such time that (his/her) disease status could be determined and/or the infection rendered noncommunicable. (Attached hereto as Exhibit B. ) Defendant failed to report to (Location). Defendant has offered no excuse for failing to report to (Location). The director of the (County) County Health Department has determined that the incubation period of (Disease) is (Incubation Period Days) days. Quarantining Defendant will prevent the general public from contact with Defendant until Defendant s disease status can be confirmed to be negative or Defendant can be rendered non-contagious. Defendant s disease status continues to pose a significant threat to the public s health due to the potential for Defendant to transmit the infection to others (he/she) comes into contact with

3 in the pre-symptomatic but contagious stage. The (County) County Health Department believes that members of the public who are exposed to Defendant are likely to become infected with (Disease) which is likely to result in serious illness, permanent disability, and/or death. Statutory Basis for Granting Preliminary Injunction Ordering Quarantine The Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 requires that certain serious communicable diseases are reported to local health directors so that they may prevent additional cases of these diseases among the exposed public. 35 P.S The Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 also provides that local health departments shall carry out appropriate control measures to protect the public from these communicable diseases. 35 P.S The Local Health Administration Law empowers the directors of local health departments to take appropriate measures to protect the public s health. 16 P.S Ex parte Preliminary Injunctions are appropriate under compelling circumstances, such as an infected individuals refusal to remain in quarantine, where the party seeking the special relief states with specificity the reason why there is not adequate time to provide notice to the opposing party and that irreparable harm will result from waiting until a hearing with all parties can be scheduled. Pa.R.C.P. No. 1531(a). Where the party seeking special relief is an instrumentality of the Commonwealth, such as a local health department created by Pennsylvania statute, no bond shall be required. Pa.R.C.P. No. 1531(b). Common Law Basis for Compelling Quarantine A Preliminary Injunction will lie where it is appropriate and there is no adequate remedy at law. A Preliminary Injunction will issue when: (1) the injunction is necessary to prevent immediate and irreparable harm not compensable in damages; (2) greater harm would result from denying the injunction than from granting it; (3) the activity sought to be restrained is actionable, and the Plaintiff's right to relief is clear; and (4) the status quo be restored if the injunction is granted. The Woods At Wayne Homeowners Assn. v. Gambone Bros. Construction Co., Inc., 893 A.2d 196, 204. (2006).

4 Analysis of Facts The (County) County Health Department has demonstrated through a conclusive laboratory report that a close contact of Defendant suffers from (Disease), a condition that is contagious to people who come in contact with Defendant, and which causes severe illness and potentially disability and/or death. The (County) County Health Department, through the DPCL, has the statutory authority to order the Defendant to remain in quarantine, until such time that Defendant is determined not to be infected with (Disease) or if infected, is no longer contagious to other people. The (County) County Health Department has attempted to convince Defendant without taking legal action to undergo quarantine until it is determined whether Defendant will develop (Disease). There is not a less restrictive means to protect the public without immunity to (Disease) from Defendant s infection. Because there is no other effective means to prevent Defendant from infecting others if Defendant has contracted (Disease), quarantine is the least restrictive means of protecting the public s health. While in quarantine, Defendant will require routine health monitoring to determine if Defendant has acquired the infection and to begin treatment if Defendant has acquired (Disease) thus decreasing the amount of time that Defendant is contagious. So long as Defendant remains in the general population, (he/she) poses an imminent risk to the public s health. The DPCL was created by the Pennsylvania Legislature to confer the power to control communicable diseases upon directors of local health departments, and the (County) County Health Department s right to remand Defendant to quarantine is clear. The (County) County Health Department is likely to prevail on the merits upon a hearing regarding this civil action. Conclusion The (County) County Health Department is entitled to obtain a Preliminary Injunction from this Honorable Court, ordering Defendant to undergo quarantine posthaste to protect the public from exposure to (Disease) until such time that the (County) County Health Department has determined that Defendant is not infected or is no longer infected, and poses no substantial risk to the public s health.

5 Respectfully submitted, (Solicitor s Name), Esquire

6 EXHIBIT A Report of Communicable Disease THIS EXHIBIT CONTAINS INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HEALTH INFORMATION The (County) County Health Department should move that it be reviewed in Camera and maintained confidentially.

7 EXHIBIT B (County) County Health Department Order for Quarantine