Case Results
Gordon & Silber Obtains Summary Judgment for Surgical Center on Grounds that the Decision to Perform Surgery was Properly Deferred to the Plaintiff's Private Treating Physician — December 2007.
Type of Case: Medical Malpractice. Plaintiff alleged the cataract surgery performed was contraindicated because of the plaintiff's underlying skin condition.
Venue: Supreme Court, Queens County
Background Facts: It was alleged that the defendants were negligent in failing to perform the cataract surgery properly, resulting in retinal detachment, and that the defendants failed to appreciate that the plaintiff was suffering from uveitis, atopic dermatitis and ectopic eczema. Additional claims alleged a lack of informed consent.
Special Problems: The plaintiff was a young man. The possible exposure, including loss of vision and loss of future earnings was very high. Furthermore, the plaintiff's skin condition was documented and a known cause of inflammation.
Our Strategy: We argued that the plaintiff was a private patient of the co-defendant physician and that our center was simply the place where the physician elected to perform the cataract surgery. We obtained an expert affirmation opining that the center properly deferred the decision to perform the surgery to the plaintiff's private treating ophthalmologist and, further, that there were no medical conditions present that warranted the Center to override the physician's decision to go forward with surgery. Our expert also opined that the plaintiff's skin condition, atopic dermatitis, was not a contraindication to the surgery performed.
Result: The court granted our client summary judgment. (FMA).
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