You are here: / / “Substantial Factor in Producing the Injury” Jury Instruction (Re: Cau...
,

“Substantial Factor in Producing the Injury” Jury Instruction (Re: Causation) Did Not Reduce Plaintiff’s Burden of Proof

In attempting to intubate an 83-year-old woman who was unresponsive, a doctor perforated her esophagus making it necessary that she be fed through a tube for the remaining three years of her life.  In affirming the plaintiffs’ verdict, the Court of Appeals determined that the trial court’s jury charge did not improperly reduce plaintiffs’ burden of proof on the issue of causation in this medical malpractice action. The jury was told defendant’s negligence caused the injury if it was a substantial factor in producing the injury:

It is well settled that a “plaintiff must generally show that the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in producing the injury” to satisfy “the burden of proving a prima facie case” in a medical malpractice action…. Here, the trial court recited the proximate cause charge directly from the PJI and explicitly instructed the jury as to plaintiffs’ burden of proof in the case. The court charged the jury using the language from PJI 2:70, as follows: “An act or omission is regarded as a cause of an injury if it was a substantial factor in bringing about the injury. That is, if it had such an effect in producing the injury that reasonable people would regard it as a cause of the injury.” Further, at the outset of the charge, the court instructed the jury that “the burden of the proof in this case rests with the plaintiffs,” and made clear that the plaintiffs had to establish by a preponderance of the evidence defendants’ negligence. Taking this jury charge as a whole, we do not find support for defendants’ contention of an improper alteration of the causation standard or plaintiffs’ burden of proof ….  Wild v Catholic Health System…, No 97, CtApp, 6-6-13

 

You might also like
THE RECORD DID NOT SUPPORT DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENT THAT DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILING TO CHALLENGE AN ALLEGEDLY BIASED JUROR; THE RECORD DID NOT SUPPORT A CONSTITUTIONAL INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE CLAIM; THEREFORE DIRECT APPEAL, AS OPPOSED TO A MOTION TO VACATE THE CONVICTION, WAS NOT AVAILABLE (CT APP).
CPL 330.30 Motions Based Upon Matters Outside the Record Properly Denied/Although Not the Case Here, Such Motions Might Be Deemed Premature CPL 440.10 Motions and, As Such, Considered by the Trial Court/Concurring/Dissenting Opinions Disagreed About Whether the Persistent Felony Offender Statute, Which Allows the Judge to Exercise Discretion in Applying the Statute, Violates Apprendi v New Jersey (Requiring Facts Upon Which an Enhanced Sentence May Be Based to Be Decided by the Jury Under a Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Standard)
THE APPELLATE DIVISION INITIALLY REVERSED SUPREME COURT AND HELD PLAINTIFF WAS NOT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS LABOR LAW 240(1) LADDER-FALL CASE; THERE WAS A DEFENSE VERDICT AFTER TRIAL; THE ORDER DENYING SUMMARY JUDGMENT IS NOT APPEALABLE TO THE COURT OF APPEALS (CT APP).
STATUTE REDUCING HEALTH BENEFITS FOR STATE EMPLOYEES DID NOT VIOLATE THE JUDICIAL COMPENSATION CLAUSE OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION (CT APP).
Judge Who Had Represented Defendant Not Required to Recuse Himself
No Private Right of Action for Unequal Pay Under Civil Service Law Section 115
COLLEGE’S DETERMINATION STUDENT VIOLATED THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT SUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, EVIDENTIARY STANDARD DEFINED (CT APP).
DEFENDANT’S SPEEDY TRIAL ARGUMENT PRESERVED BY A HEARING; HAD THE HEARING NOT BEEN HELD, HOWEVER, DEFENDANT’S FAILURE TO REPLY TO THE PEOPLE’S EXPLANATION OF THE DELAY WOULD HAVE RENDERED THE ARGUMENT UNPRESERVED.

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

HAIL Act Regulating Taxi Cabs and Livery Vehicles in New York City Does Not... Residential Health Care Facility’s Medicaid Reimbursement Disallowed with...