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HEARSAY STATEMENTS IN A MEDICAL RECORD ARE ADMISSIBLE IN A PERSONAL INJURY ACTION WHEN (1) THE STATEMENTS ARE GERMANE TO DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT AND (2) THE STATEMENTS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE PLAINTIFF (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, affirming the denial of plaintiff’s summary judgment motion, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Connolly, determined that hearsay statements attributed to plaintiff in a medical record were admissible and created a question fact in this Labor Law 240(1) ladder-fall case. Plaintiff alleged he was knocked off an A-frame ladder by a piece of sheetrock. However, the medical record indicated he was on a ladder lifting sheetrock when he felt a pull in his lower back and shoulder. The opinion is comprehensive and offers guidance to the admissibility of hearsay statements in a medical record:

The first page of the Precision Pain medical records contains, among other things, the following statement: “Accident: Patient was on a ladder, was picking up heavy [sheetrock] and felt a pull on his lower back and R shoulder.” On the third and fourth pages, the following three statements appear: “Incident patient described the competent medical cause of this injury? YES. “Are the patient’s complaints consistent with his/her history of injury? YES. “Is the patient’s history of the injury consistent with my objective findings? YES.” * * *

Because we find that the challenged statement was germane to medical diagnosis and treatment, we conclude that it was part of Khaimov’s [the doctor’s] regular business practice to record the challenged statement.

Nevertheless, this conclusion “satisfies only half the test” … . Each participant in the chain producing the challenged statement in the Precision Pain medical records, “from the initial declarant to the final entrant, must be acting within the course of regular business conduct or the declaration must meet the test of some other hearsay exception” … . Firsthand accounts from the patient to the medical provider are presumptively reliable, as the patient has a clear motivation to report accurately … . However, “where the source of the information on the hospital or doctor’s record is unknown, the record is inadmissible” … . * * *

Considering both the plaintiff’s deposition testimony and the statements on the third and fourth pages of the Precision Pain medical records, [defendant] sufficiently established that the plaintiff was the source of the information in the challenged statement … . Pillco v 160 Dikeman St., LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op 04495, Second Dept 7-30-25

Practice Point: Consult this opinion for a comprehensive discussion of the two-prong test for the admissibility of hearsay statements in a medical record.

 

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