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McCormack v. Mount Sinai Hospital
Citations: 85 A.D.2d 596; 444 N.Y.S.2d 702; 1981 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 16403
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; December 6, 1981; New York; State Appellate Court
In a medical malpractice case, Mount Sinai Hospital appeals a Supreme Court order allowing the plaintiff to amend her complaint to include a third cause of action for simple negligence. The court affirmed the order, requiring the plaintiff to serve the amended complaint within 20 days after receiving the order. The case stems from the death of the plaintiff's decedent on September 17, 1973, following an alleged fall at the hospital due to the unavailability of a wheelchair, which the plaintiff claims contributed to a fracture exacerbating pre-existing lung cancer. A medical malpractice panel had previously found no liability against the hospital, but the court determined that the amendment to the complaint was appropriate since the new claim was based on the same facts as the original complaint, and the hospital did not demonstrate it would face prejudice from the amendment. The court emphasized that the new negligence cause of action does not undermine the previous panel finding, as it will be considered alongside the malpractice claim as an alternative recovery theory. Furthermore, the court noted that the hospital's responsibility to provide a functioning wheelchair is administrative, and the alleged failure in this duty can support a negligence claim. The appeal was rejected, with all justices concurring.