You are here: / / Statements in Hospital Records Attributable to Plaintiff Not Admissible...
,

Statements in Hospital Records Attributable to Plaintiff Not Admissible Because Not Germane to Treatment or Diagnosis/Plaintiff’s Counsel Should Not Have Been Allowed to Comment on Defense’s Failure to Call the Nurse Who Was Going to Testify About the Statements—New Trial Ordered

The Second Department determined plaintiff's alleged statements about the trip and fall which were referenced in hospital records were not admissible because the statements were not germane to diagnosis and treatment and were not prior inconsistent statements.  The defense was therefore prohibited from calling the triage nurse who heard the statements.  Plaintiff's counsel, however, was erroneously allowed to comment on the absence of the nurse from the trial (the defense had indicated in its opening that she would testify about discrepancies in the plaintiff's account of the accident).  A new trial was therefore ordered:

Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in precluding the admission into evidence of the entries in the injured plaintiff's hospital records. The evidence, which purportedly constituted statements by the injured plaintiff indicating that the accident did not occur on the defendants' premises, were not germane to the injured plaintiff's diagnosis and treatment … . Further, those statements were either equivocal as to how the accident occurred, or consistent with the injured plaintiff's testimony at trial … . Accordingly, they were not admissible as prior inconsistent statements to impeach her credibility. Since those entries were not admissible, the testimony of the triage nurse with respect to those entries was not admissible.

However, permitting the plaintiffs' counsel to comment on the failure to call the triage nurse as a witness was error, since the defendants in fact produced the witness and were precluded from calling her to testify by the trial court. Further, the comments by the plaintiffs' counsel in summation were not supported by the evidence, and were inflammatory and unduly prejudicial, depriving the defendants of a fair trial … . Nelson v Bogopa Serv Corp, 2014 NY Slip Op 08612, 2nd Dept 12-10-14

 

You might also like
NO SPECIFIC PROOF OF WHEN AREA OF THE SLIP AND FALL WAS LAST INSPECTED, DEFENDANT’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, PLAINTIFF’S COUNSEL’S AFFIDAVIT, WHICH WAS BASED SOLELY UPON READING THE COMPLAINT, DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DEFENDANT’S DEFAULT (SECOND DEPT).
“Extreme and Outrageous Conduct” Is Not an Element of “Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress”—Elements of Private Nuisance, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, and Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Explained in Some Depth—Complaint Should Have Been Dismissed for Failure to State a Cause of Action
PETITIONER’S FOIL REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS AND EVIDENCE RELATING TO HIS MURDER CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED ON THE GROUND RESPONDING TO THE REQUEST WOULD INTERFERE WITH PETITIONER’S HABEAS CORPUS PROCEEDINGS IN FEDERAL COURT; THE FEDERAL COURT HAD ISSUED A STAY-IN-ABEYANCE ORDER TO ALLOW PETITIONER TO EXHAUST HIS STATE REMEDIES (SECOND DEPT).
FAILURE TO FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM AGAINST THE NEW YORK TRANSIT AUTHORITY (AS OPPOSED TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK) IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE, AND THE FAILURE TO APPLY FOR PERMISSION TO FILE A LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM, GAVE RISE TO THIS LEGAL MALPRACTICE AND JUDICIARY LAW 487 ACTION WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO CAUSES OF ACTION EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT).
OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS ARE NOT NECESSARY TO PROVE A SIDEWALK HEIGHT DIFFERENTIAL DEFECT IS TRIVIAL; HOWEVER, HERE THE DEPOSITION TESTIMONY, THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE OPINION OF A HUMAN FACTORS EXPERT (WHICH WAS NOT BASED ON OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS) DID NOT SUPPORT SUPREME COURT’S FINDING THE DEFECT IS TRIVIAL AS A MATTER OF LAW (SECOND DEPT).
THE MAJORITY DETERMINED DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENT HIS GUILTY PLEA WAS NOT VOLUNTARILY ENTERED WAS NOT PRESERVED; THE DISSENT ARGUED DEFENDANT WAS NOT ADEQUATELY INFORMED OF HIS BOYKIN RIGHTS AND THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (THIRD DEPT).
VIRGINIA MURDER CONVICTION WHICH REQUIRED DEFENDANT TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER IN VIRGINIA DID NOT QUALIFY DEFENDANT AS A SEX OFFENDER IN NEW YORK (SECOND DEPT).

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

Convictions Based Upon an Unconstitutional Statute Must Be Vacated Mother’s Parental Rights Should Not Have Been Terminated Based Upon a...