1. A professional caretaker who fails to provide such service, care or supervision as is reasonable and necessary to maintain the health or safety of a patient is guilty of criminal neglect of a patient if:

(a) The act or omission is aggravated, reckless or gross;

(b) The act or omission is such a departure from what would be the conduct of an ordinarily prudent, careful person under the same circumstances that it is contrary to a proper regard for danger to human life or constitutes indifference to the resulting consequences;

(c) The consequences of the negligent act or omission could have reasonably been foreseen; and

(d) The danger to human life was not the result of inattention, mistaken judgment or misadventure, but the natural and probable result of an aggravated reckless or grossly negligent act or omission.

2. Unless a more severe penalty is prescribed by law for the act or omission which brings about the neglect, a person who commits criminal neglect of a patient:

(a) If the neglect results in death, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 20 years.

(b) If the neglect results in substantial bodily harm, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.

(c) If the neglect does not result in death or substantial bodily harm, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

3. For the purposes of this section, a patient is not neglected for the sole reason that:

(a) According to the patient’s desire, the patient is being furnished with treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with the tenets and practices of a church or religious denomination. Subsection 1 does not authorize or require any medical care or treatment over the implied or express objection of such a patient.

(b) Life-sustaining treatment was withheld or withdrawn in accordance with a valid declaration by the patient or his or her agent pursuant to NRS 162A.790.

4. Upon the conviction of a person for a violation of the provisions of subsection 1, the Attorney General shall give notice of the conviction to the licensing boards which:

(a) Licensed the facility in which the criminal neglect occurred; and

(b) If applicable, licensed the person so convicted.

5. As used in this section:

(a) “Medical facility” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 449.0151.

(b) “Patient” means a person who resides or receives health care in a medical facility.

(c) “Professional caretaker” means a person who:

(1) Holds a license, registration or permit issued pursuant to title 54 or chapter 449 of NRS;

(2) Is employed by, an agent of or under contract to perform services for, a medical facility; and

(3) Has responsibility to provide care to patients.

The term does not include a person who is not involved in the day-to-day operation or management of a medical facility unless that person has actual knowledge of the criminal neglect of a patient and takes no action to cure such neglect.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2497; A 1995, 1192; 2009, 207)