Senior Partner Peter T. Crean and Associates Emma B. Glazer and Alexander C. Cooper, successfully obtained dismissal of all claims against our client Hospital and individually named doctor in a Bronx County action.
The case involved a man, who underwent a partial right nephrectomy for a renal mass and on postoperative day two, he sustained mild left-sided weakness. Notably, plaintiff did not report his symptoms to the defendants for approximately eight hours because he “did not want to bother anyone.” The stroke team was called, but plaintiff was not eligible for stroke treatment because he was within 48-hours of major surgery.
Plaintiff claimed that the defendants failed to timely diagnose stroke.
Defendants moved for summary judgment and annexed Expert Affirmations from a neurologist and urologist. Both experts opined that the standard of care was met and the delay in diagnosis of stroke was due to plaintiff’s own failure to report his symptoms. Moreover, even if he did report the symptoms immediately, he was not eligible for treatment because of the temporal proximity to surgery.
After review of opposition and oral argument, the Court held that plaintiff’s neurology expert did not have adequate qualifications to opine on our urologist’s treatment and had failed to address the fact that the patient was never eligible for stroke treatment. Because plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact, the Court dismissed the case in its entirety.