Summary
This New York Appellate Division decision reviews an order granting a plaintiff's motion for leave to renew their opposition to a defendant physician's motion for summary judgment in a medical malpractice and wrongful death action. The court held that while the trial court properly exercised its discretion in granting leave to renew, it should have adhered to its prior determination granting summary judgment because the plaintiffs' expert affidavits were speculative, conclusory, and failed to rebut the defendant's prima facie showing of no departure from the accepted standard of care. Consequently, the order was modified to reinstate the dismissal of the complaint against the defendant physician.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Supreme Court, Suffolk County abused its discretion in granting the plaintiffs' motion to renew opposition and vacating the summary‑judgment order
- Whether the defendant satisfied the prima facie burden for summary judgment in a medical‑malpractice action
Holdings
- The Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's order granting the plaintiffs' motion to renew opposition and vacating the prior summary‑judgment order.
- A defendant moving for summary judgment in a medical‑malpractice action must establish a prima facie showing that there was no departure from the accepted standard of care and that any alleged deviation was not a proximate cause of injury.
Key quotations
“"In moving for summary judgment dismissing a cause of action alleging medical malpractice, a defendant must establish, prima facie, that there was no departure or deviation from the accepted standard of care or that such departure or deviation was not a proximate cause of any injury to the plaintiff" (Weintroub v Maimonides Med. Ctr., 222 AD3d 915, 915-916, quoting Attia v Klebanov, 192 AD3d 650, 651).” (at 2)
Factual background
In November 2011 the decedent Michael Paxton presented to Good Samaritan Hospital with flu‑like symptoms and was diagnosed with presumed sepsis. Infectious‑disease specialist Steven Samuels examined the patient, ordered antibiotics, which were administered, but the decedent died on November 8, 2011. Plaintiffs sued for medical malpractice and wrongful death, alleging the defendant failed to timely assess sepsis and initiate antibiotics.
Procedural history
The Supreme Court, Suffolk County granted the defendant's summary‑judgment motion on May 4, 2020. Plaintiffs sought leave to renew opposition; the court granted that motion on September 18, 2020, vacating the May 4 order. The defendant appealed.