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THE CONTINUOUS TREATMENT DOCTRINE TOLLED THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTION; ALTHOUGH THE PLAINTIFFS’ EXPERT’S AFFIDAVIT WAS UNSWORN, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED BECAUSE DEFENDANTS DID NOT OBJECT; DESPITE PLAINTFF’S SIGNING A GENERIC CONSENT FORM, THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THERE WAS A LACK OF INFORMED CONSENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this medical malpractice action, determined: (1) the continuous treatment doctrine tolled the statute of limitations for some of the causes of action; (2) the plaintiffs’ expert’s unsworn affidavit raised questions of fact about a departure from the requisite standard of care (although the unsworn affidavit was not in admissible form, defendants did not object); and (3) the lack of informed consent cause of action should not have been dismissed:

… [C]ontinuous treatment may be found when a plaintiff “returns to the doctor because of continued pain in that area for which medical attention was first sought” … . Here, the plaintiffs demonstrated that, continuing until at least October 23, 2014, the injured plaintiff repeatedly sought treatment … for ongoing and sometimes increasing symptoms relating to her original complaints … . * * *

Although the unsworn affidavit of the plaintiffs’ expert does not constitute competent evidence to oppose a motion for summary judgment (see CPLR 2106 … ), the defendants failed to object to the unsworn affidavit on this ground in the Supreme Court and, therefore, any deficiency in the submission has been waived … . * * *

“[T]he fact that the [injured] plaintiff signed a [generic] consent form does not establish [the defendants’] prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law” dismissing this cause of action insofar as asserted against the North Shore defendants … . … [T]he transcripts of the deposition testimony of the injured plaintiff and of the physicians … , submitted by the defendants in support of their motion, did not establish that the injured plaintiff was given sufficient information on the risks and alternatives regarding the materials used and the procedures performed. … [D]efendants failed to establish that a reasonably prudent person in the injured plaintiff’s position would not have declined to undergo the procedures if she or he had been fully informed of the risks and alternatives regarding the materials used and the procedures performed (see Public Health Law § 2805-d[3] …). Hall v Bolognese, 2022 NY Slip Op 06692, Second Dept 11-23-22

Practice Point: Here in this medical malpractice action the appellate court held: (1) the continuous treatment doctrine applied to toll the statute of limitations; (2) the unsworn affidavit from plaintiffs’ expert should have been considered because defendants did not object to it; (3) plaintiff’s signing a consent form did not preclude causes of action alleging a lack of informed consent.

 

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