Caccio v. Maimonides Medical Center
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; November 9, 1997; New York; State Appellate Court
In a medical malpractice case, Maimonides Medical Center appeals a Supreme Court order denying its motion for summary judgment to dismiss the complaint. The case involves the death of the decedent, who died from complications related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) contracted through contaminated blood received during surgery at Maimonides. The contaminated blood was supplied by the co-defendant, New York Blood Center, Inc. The plaintiff argues that Maimonides should be held liable for not using "clean" blood units donated by the decedent's family prior to the surgery. The court affirmed the denial of Maimonides' summary judgment motion, ruling that the defendant failed to prove that the family-donated blood was incompatible with the decedent's blood, which would have precluded its use in the transfusion. The decision includes concurrence from Justices Rosenblatt, Ritter, Krausman, and Florio.