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HERE THE MEDICAL RECORDS SUGGESTED INJURY ATTRIBUTABLE TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE SO THE HOSPITAL WAS DEEMED TO HAVE HAD TIMELY NOTICE OF THE NATURE OF THE MALPRACTICE CLAIM; PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO DEEM THE LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM TIMELY SERVED NUNC PRO TUNC SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s motion to deem the late notice of claim timely served nunc pro tunc should have been granted in this medical malpractice action:

On August 31, 2015, the plaintiff, Estefani Tenezaca, gave birth to the infant A.J.L. (hereinafter the infant) at Elmhurst Hospital Center (hereinafter Elmhurst), a facility controlled by the defendant. The infant was born prematurely at 30 weeks gestation and was treated at Elmhurst until September 16, 2015, when she was transferred to another hospital.

In July 2016, the plaintiff, as parent and natural guardian of the infant, served a notice of claim on the defendant, alleging, among other things, medical malpractice in the defendant’s treatment of the infant. * * *

The plaintiff’s experts opined that the infant suffered a massive bilateral parenchymal hemorrhage as a result of the treatment documented in Elmhurst’s records. * * *

Inasmuch as the Elmhurst records, upon independent review, suggested injury attributable to medical malpractice, those records provided the defendant with actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim … .  Additionally, the plaintiff made an initial showing that the defendant would not suffer any prejudice by the delay in serving a notice of claim, and the defendant failed to rebut that showing with particularized indicia of prejudice … . The plaintiff also established a reasonable excuse for her failure to timely serve a notice of claim … . Tenezaca v New York City Health & Hosps. Corp., 2026 NY Slip Op 05208, Second Dept 9-2-25

Practice Point: In this medical malpractice action plaintiff moved to deem the late notice of claim timely served. The medical records suggested injury attributable to malpractice. Therefore the hospital was deemed to have had timely notice of the nature of the claim.

 

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PETITIONERS DID NOT LEARN OF THE BABY’S MEDICAL CONDITION UNTIL SIX MONTHS AFTER THE INDUCED LABOR; PETITIONERS REQUESTED LEAVE TO FILE A LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE; ALTHOUGH THE HOSPITAL DID NOT HAVE TIMELY KNOWLEDGE OF THE ESSENCE OF THE CLAIM, THE HOSPITAL DID NOT DEMONSTRATE ANY PREJUDICE FROM THE DELAY BECAUSE THE MEDICAL ISSUES WERE FULLY DOCUMENTED; THE REQUEST TO FILE A LATE NOTICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined petitioners’ request for leave to file a late notice of claim in this medical malpractice action should have been granted. Petitioner mother did not learn of her child’s medical condition until six months after her discharge from the hospital after labor was induced. Mother therefore had a reasonable excuse for failure to timely file a notice of claim. Although the hospital did not have timely knowledge of the nature of the claim, the hospital did not demonstrate any prejudice from the delay because the relevant issues were fully documented:

… [T]he court, in its discretion, must consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether (1) the claimant demonstrated a reasonable excuse for the failure to serve a timely notice of claim, (2) the public corporation acquired actual knowledge of the essential facts constituting the claim within 90 days after the claim arose or a reasonable time thereafter, and (3) the delay would substantially prejudice the public corporation in its defense” … . Another factor to consider is whether the claimant was an infant at the time the claim arose and whether there is a nexus between infancy and delay in service … , which was the case here. “‘[T]he presence or absence of any one factor is not determinative'” … .

Here, the petitioners established a reasonable excuse for the delay, to wit, the serious medical condition of the infant petitioner, which required numerous medical appointments while the condition of the infant petitioner was being assessed … . The petitioners failed to demonstrate that NYCHHC had actual knowledge of the facts underlying the claim within 90 days after the claim arose or a reasonable time thereafter, since the hospital’s records did not evidence that the medical staff, by its acts or omissions, inflicted an injury attributable to malpractice … . However, “[s]ince the conduct at issue was fully documented in the medical records, the petitioner[s] made an initial showing that NYCHHC was not prejudiced by the delay in serving the notice of claim … , and, in response, the NYCHHC made no showing of prejudice” … . Matter of Caceres v NYC Health & Hosps., 2026 NY Slip Op 05182, Second Dept 9-2-26

Practice Point: Here the request to file a late notice of claim was granted despite the fact that the hospital did not have timely notice of the essence of the medical malpractice claim. Petitioners had a reasonable excuse for the delay and the hospital did not demonstrate any prejudice caused by the delay.

 

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DEFENDANT TREATING NEUROLOGIST INDICATED ON A DMV FORM FOR REINSTATEMENT OF THE PATIENT-DRIVER’S LICENSE THAT THE DRIVER’S LAST SEIZURE WAS TWO YEARS BEFORE WHEN, IN FACT, THE LAST SEIZURE WAS FOUR MONTHS BEFORE; TWO MONTHS AFTER REINSTATEMENT OF THE LICENSE, THE DRIVER HAD A SEIZURE-RELATED ACCIDENT IN WHICH PLAINTIFFS’ DECEDENTS DIED; THE ACTION AGAINST THE NEUROLOGIST SOUNDED IN ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE, NOT MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, AND WAS THEREFORE TIMELY BROUGHT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Higgitt, determined the action sounded in negligence, not medical malpractice, rendering the action timely brought. Defendant neurologist was treating the non-party driver for seizures. In filling out a NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) form for reinstatement of the driver’s license, defendant stated that the driver’s last seizure was about two years before, when in fact the last seizure was four months before. To be entitled to reinstatement of the driver’s license, the driver must have been free of seizures for the previous 12 months. Two months after the driver’s license was reinstated, the driver had a seizure which resulted in a horrific traffic accident in which two people died. The lawsuit was brought by their estates:

… [P]laintiffs’ survival-action claims, premised on the theory that Dr. Avila erroneously recorded the date of the driver’s last seizure in the DMV form, which error led to the DMV reinstating the driver’s license, sound in ordinary negligence. The crux of the survival-action claims is not Dr. Avila’s negligence in furnishing medical treatment to the driver; rather, the essence of the claims is that Dr. Avila failed to fulfill a different duty. The nature of the act underlying those claims — transcribing a date from a treatment note to a governmental administration form — “is more administrative than medical in nature” … . Because the act underpinning the survival-action claims is administrative in nature, jurors can use their common everyday experience to evaluate whether Dr. Avila exercised due care … . That a physician made the alleged administrative error does not transform the claim from one sounding in ordinary negligence to one for medical malpractice; the characterization of a particular claim depends not on the title of the actor but on the nature of the challenged act … .

Ultimately, the core issue related to plaintiffs’ survival-action claims — whether Dr. Avila failed to exercise due care in recording a fact on the DMV form — may not implicate questions of medical competence or judgment regarding the treatment of the driver … . Unlike the inquiry on a medical malpractice claim, whether Dr. Avila breached his duty to exercise due care in recording a fact on the DMV form does not depend on an analysis of the medical treatment rendered to the driver … . Lafferty v Avila, 2026 NY Slip Op 05147, First Dept 8-27-26

Practice Point: If a jury does not need to analyze the medical treatment rendered by a doctor to determine a doctor’s negligence, the action does not sound in medical malpractice and is subject to a three-year statute of limitations for ordinary negligence.

 

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THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE DR. VELASQUEZ WAS NEGLIGENT; HIS SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION IN THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED; THE OPINION IS FACT-SPECIFIC AND DETAILED (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Mendez, determined this medical malpractice action against one of the defendants, Dr. Velasquez, should have been dismissed. The opinion is fact-specific and goes through the evidence in granular detail. Roth v Velasquez, 2026 NY Slip Op 04915, First Dept 8-6-26

 

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A DISCOVERY RULE ENACTED IN 2018 REACHED BACK TEN MONTHS BEFORE THE RULE WAS ENACTED TO RENDER TIMELY THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAUSE OF ACTION ALLEGING THE NEGLIGENT FAILURE TO DIAGNOSE CANCER (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the medical malpractice cause of action alleging the negligent failure to diagnose cancer was rendered timely by a discovery rule which reaches back ten months before the discovery rule was enacted:

The causes of action arising from negligent failure to diagnose cancer accrued on October 23, 2014, when the defendants failed to advise [plaintiff] to submit to additional testing, such as a mammogram. However, the 2018 enactment also includes a provision providing for the revival of certain causes of action, such that an action may be commenced within six months after the effective date, i.e., by July 31, 2018, when it alleges a failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor, and when it became time-barred within 10 months prior to the effective date of the statute—January 31, 2018, that is, on or after March 31, 2017 (see L 2018, ch 1, § 4…). Here, the causes of action qualify for revival pursuant to that provision, as they became time-barred in April 2017, within the 10-month period prior to the act’s effective date, and this action was commenced on June 11, 2018, prior to the July 31, 2018 deadline … . Rhodes v Dilena, 2026 NY Slip Op 04444, Second Dept 7-15-26

Practice Point: Consult this decision for an explanation of the application of the discovery rule enacted in 2018 providing for the revival of a medical malpractice action alleging negligent failure to diagnose cancer after the statute of limitations expired.

 

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THE DENIAL OF THE JURY’S REQUEST TO SEE MRI IMAGES ON THE GROUND VIEWING THEM WAS “BEYOND THE KEN” OF THE JURY WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing the denial of plaintiff’s motion to set aside the verdict, determined the judge should not have withheld from the jury MRI images on the ground they were “beyond the ken” of the jury:

… [T]he Supreme Court failed to respond meaningfully to the jury’s request to view all of the infant plaintiff’s MRI images during deliberations … . Although the MRI images were admitted into evidence at trial, the court denied the jury’s request to view the MRI images during deliberations on the ground that viewing them was “beyond the ken of a juror.” … [T]he error deprived the plaintiffs of “substantial justice” with respect to the jury’s finding that Halitsky’s departure was not a substantial factor in causing the infant plaintiff’s injury … . Accordingly, the court should have granted that branch of the plaintiffs’ motion which was pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside so much of the jury verdict as was in favor of Halitsky …. J.T.M. v Parrinello, 2026 NY Slip Op 03787, Second Dept 6-17-26

Practice Point: Here the judge should not have refused the jury’s request to view MRI images which were in evidence on the ground they were “beyond the ken” of the jury.

 

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ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT WAS NOT BOARD CERTIFIED IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE, THE EXPERT SET FORTH A SUFFICIENT FOUNDATION FOR THE OPINION; THE HOSPITAL DID NOT DEMONSTRATE IT COULD NOT BE HELD VICARIOUSLY LIABLE FOR TREATMENT BY AN INDEPENDENT PHYSICIAN (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the medical malpractice action should not have been dismissed. Plaintiff’s medical expert need not be board certified in emergency medicine to be qualified to offer an opinion. The hospital did not demonstrate it could not be held vicariously liable for the care provided by an independent physician:

Contrary to the defendants’ contention, the plaintiffs’ expert was qualified to offer an opinion despite not being board certified in emergency medicine. “‘A physician need not be a specialist in a particular field to qualify as a medical expert and any alleged lack of knowledge . . . [or] expertise goes to the weight and not the admissibility of the testimony'” … . Here, the plaintiffs’ expert set forth a sufficient foundation for his or her opinion, based on his or her clinical experience and familiarity with the applicable standards of care … . …

… [G]enerally, a hospital may not be held vicariously liable for the negligence of a private attending physician chosen by the patient … . “However, an exception to the rule that a hospital may not be held vicariously liable for the treatment provided by an independent physician applies where a patient comes to the emergency room seeking treatment from the hospital and not from a particular physician of the patient’s choosing, or a nonemployee physician otherwise acted as an agent of the hospital or the hospital exercised control over the physician” … . Here, the defendants failed to demonstrate, prima facie, that [the hospital] was free from vicarious liability for [plaintiff’s] care and treatment in its emergency department as a matter of law … . Valitutto v Staten Is. Univ. Hosp., 2026 NY Slip Op 03020, Second Dept 5-13-26

Practice Point: Here plaintiff’s expert was qualified to offer an opinion despite not being board certified in emergency medicine.

Practice Point: Here the hospital did not demonstrate it could not be held vicariously liable for treatment by an independent physician.

 

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THE EXPERT TESTIMONY OFFERED TO DEMONSTRATE A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT AND AUTISM SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRECLUDED; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing the plaintiffs’ verdict in this medical malpractice action and ordering a new trial, determined the expert testimony offered to demonstrate low-birth-weight has a causal relationship with autism should have been precluded:

There was no testimony at the Frye hearing that any of the studies Rubenstein [plaintiffs’ expert] relied upon concluded that premature birth causes autism. Rather, Rubenstein’s testimony established that the exact mechanism of how autism develops is unknown and that studies found a causal inference or association between prematurity and autism, not a causal relationship. Further, there was no testimony elicited at the Frye hearing that demonstrated that the medical community, specifically pediatric neurologists, have accepted that prematurity causes autism or even that a child’s birth at 25 weeks versus 27 weeks increases that child’s risk of later being diagnosed with autism. In any event, the gap between the statistical analysis relied upon by Rubenstein regarding the prevalence of autism in preterm, low-birth-weight infants and his testimony that the pathophysiology and causes of autism are unknown was too great to allow him to opine as to his theory of causation in this action. Based upon the foregoing, the Supreme Court erred in denying that branch of the defendants’ motion which was to preclude Rubenstein’s testimony on this theory of causation. Terehoff v Frenkel, 2026 NY Slip Op 02688, Second Dept 4-29-26

Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into when observational studies will not support an expert’s testimony about causation. Here the testimony purporting to link low-birth-weight to autism should have been precluded.

 

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IN A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE TRIAL, THE “ERROR IN JUDGMENT” JURY INSTRUCTION IS ONLY APPROPRIATE WHERE A PHYSICIAN IS CONFRONTED WITH SEVERAL MEDICALLY ACCEPTABLE TREATMENTS AND CHOOSES ONE; HERE IT WAS ALLEGED DEFENDANT MISREAD AN X-RAY; GIVING THE “ERROR IN JUDGMENT” INSTRUCTION WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department, ordering a new trial in this medical malpractice case, determined the judge should not have given the jury an “error in judgment” jury instruction. The complaint alleged defendant physician failed to notice an abnormality in a lung X-ray. The “error in judgment” instruction is only appropriate when a physician is confronted with several medically acceptable treatments and chooses one, not the case here:

“[A]n error [in] judgment charge is appropriate in a case where a doctor is confronted with several alternatives and, in determining appropriate treatment to be rendered, exercises [their] judgment by following one course of action in lieu of another” … . However, such a charge should be given “only in a narrow category of medical malpractice cases in which there is evidence that [the] defendant physician considered and chose among several medically acceptable treatment alternatives” … . An error in judgment charge is not warranted where, as here, there was no evidence introduced at trial that the defendant physician “made a choice between or among medically acceptable alternatives” … , and the “plaintiffs’ [sole] theory of [the] defendant’s alleged malpractice ar[ose] from [the] defendant’s alleged lack of due care in assessing [the] plaintiff’s condition,” inasmuch as “the [sole] issue before the jury was [then] whether [the] defendant’s failure to diagnose [the] plaintiff’s [condition] constituted a deviation from medically accepted standards of care” … . Inasmuch as the error in judgment charge here “create[d] a risk that [the] jury w[ould] find that, because [Sobieraj] exercised his . . . best judgment, there can be no liability despite a failure to adhere to generally accepted standards of care,” we conclude that the court’s error in giving the charge cannot be deemed harmless … , and plaintiffs are thus entitled to a new trial.  Burns v Sobieraj, 2026 NY Slip Op 02537, Fourth Dept 4-24-26

Practice Point: In a medical malpractice action, the “error in judgment” jury instruction is only appropriate where there evidence of more than one appropriate treatment and the physician chooses one. It was reversible error to give the instruction where it was alleged the defendant misread an X-ray.

 

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A PLAINTIFF NEED NOT SUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE IN OPPOSITION TO A MOTION TO DISMISS AS OPPOSED TO A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; HERE THE COMPLAINT STATED CAUSES OF ACTION FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND LACK OF INFORMED CONSENT; CRITERIA EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the motion to dismiss the medical malpractice complaint should not have been granted, noting that a plaintiff need not present any evidence in opposition to a motion to dismiss, as opposed to a motion for summary judgment:

Supreme Court improperly granted the motion of [defendants] pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) to dismiss the amended complaint insofar as asserted against them based on the plaintiff’s failure to comply with the court’s earlier directive “to provide an affidavit from a physician attesting [to] the merits of her claims.” The burden does not shift to the nonmoving party on a motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7). A plaintiff need not make an evidentiary showing in support of the complaint in order to defeat such a motion and will not be penalized for failure to do so … . Here, where the motion was not converted into one for summary judgment, the plaintiff had no obligation to provide an affidavit from an expert to support the allegations in the amended complaint in order to defeat the [defendants’] motion … . * * *

… [A]ccepting the allegations in the amended complaint as true and according the plaintiff the benefit of every possible favorable inference, the amended complaint sufficiently stated causes of action alleging medical malpractice and lack of informed consent … . Wilber v Borgen, 2026 NY Slip Op 02001, Second Dept 4-1-26

Practice Point: A plaintiff need not submit any evidence in opposition to a motion to dismiss the complaint. Here the judge should not have granted the motion on the ground the plaintiff did not comply with the court’s directive to submit an affidavit from a physician.

 

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