Summary
This Appellate Division decision affirms the Supreme Court's grant of summary judgment dismissing a medical malpractice complaint alleging negligent prenatal care resulted in a stillbirth. The court found the defendants satisfied their prima facie burden by demonstrating no proximate cause, while the plaintiff's opposing expert affidavit was deemed speculative and conclusory. The appellate court also upheld the denial of the plaintiff's motion to compel discovery and her request to amend her bill of particulars after certification for trial without showing extraordinary circumstances.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the defendants satisfied the summary‑judgment burden by showing no material issue of fact regarding deviation from the standard of care or proximate cause in a medical‑malpractice action.
- Whether the plaintiff was entitled to amend her bill of particulars after the note of issue had been filed.
Holdings
- The defendants established that there were no material issues of fact concerning deviation from the standard of care or proximate cause; therefore summary judgment was proper and the complaint was dismissed.
- The plaintiff was not entitled to amend her bill of particulars because she failed to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances justifying the amendment.
- The trial court properly denied the motion because the plaintiff had previously sought and been denied the same relief.
Key quotations
“"A defendant moving for summary judgment in a medical malpractice action must demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact with respect to at least one of the elements of a cause of action alleging medical malpractice: (1) whether the physician deviated or departed from accepted community standards of practice, or (2) [whether] such a departure was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries"”
“"Once a defendant has made such a showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to demonstrate the existence of a triable issue of fact as to the elements on which the defendant met the prima facie burden"”
Factual background
Ranbir Kaur alleged that Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and its staff deviated from accepted standards of prenatal care, resulting in the delivery of a stillborn fetus. The plaintiff sought damages for medical malpractice.
Procedural history
The plaintiff filed a medical malpractice action in June 2017. The trial court denied the plaintiff's motion to compel discovery and later granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment while denying the plaintiff's motion to amend her bill of particulars. The plaintiff appealed both orders.