A case involving allegations that a renowned heart surgeon left a portion of a surgical needle in an infant’s chest will continue as the state appellate court concluded that there are issues of fact
Foundation of the Case
The infant’s family sued the surgeon and Montefiore Medical Center after a surgical needle was left in their infant during a medical procedure. The hospital had conducted a second surgery to attempt to remove the needle in the first surgery, which the family believes may have led to the infant sustaining physical and psychiatric injuries. The surgeon who performed the procedure was the chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and co-director of the Pediatric Heart Center at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.
Case History
The Bronx Supreme Court denied the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion, finding that the plaintiff had not proven that the departure from accepted medical standards caused the injuries to the infant. The plaintiffs also made a motion to reargue their summary judgment motion and the defendants’ similar motion to dismiss a portion of the claim that alleged that a second surgery that was initiated to remove the broken needle had caused the injury to the infant. The trial judge granted this motion and found that it had erred when it granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the claim based on the second surgery.
On July 2, 2019, a New York appeals court stated that the case would continue because there were ongoing issues of fact and conflicting testimony regarding whether there was a departure from the accepted standard of care and whether this departure caused the infant’s injuries. The appellate court also affirmed the lower court’s granting of the motion to reargue, as well as the denial of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Ultimately, the appellate court held that there was conflicting factual testimony and medical opinions that represent issues of material fact as to the causation of the infant’s injury.
About Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice claims are a special type of personal injury claim that require an in-depth understanding of medical practices and medical information. There are additional factors that a plaintiff must be able to prove in order to pursue this type of case, including that the defendant deviated from medical standards within his or her specialty and geographic region. These cases often require hiring a medical expert who can testify about what the accepted medical standard is, how another doctor with similar training and a similar background would have acted in the situation, how the defendant deviated from this medical standard, and how the deviation resulted in the patient’s injury. Working with an experienced medical malpractice attorney is essential to increasing your potential for successfully establishing your medical malpractice claim. Contact our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys for help with your claim and to schedule a free and confidential case consultation.
