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Rodriguez v. Mount Sinai Medical Center9/17/2004
This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.
In March 2004, plaintiff Cynthia Rodriguez commenced this action as Administratrix of the Estate of her deceased mother, seeking to recover money damages for personal injuries sustained by Irma Mendez while under the custody of defendant hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center (also known as Mount Sinai Hospital). Plaintiff now moves for court leave to submit a belated Notice of Medical Malpractice. Defendant Mount Sinai Medical Center cross moves for a dismissal of the action pursuant to CPLR §3012-a, on the ground it is time-barred by the statute of limitations for medical malpractice.
Factual Background
The following factual allegations are taken from the summons and complaint. On August 21, 2001, Irma Mendez was admitted to the Transplant Unit of Mount Sinai Medical Center with end-stage liver disease and end-stage renal disease on dialysis. On August 27, 2001, Irma Mendez fell onto the floor of the Transplant Unit (9C). On September 3, 2001, Irma Mendez fell again onto the floor of the Transplant Unit sustaining a blunt impact to the head. Two days later, on September 5, 2001, a CT-Scan was done on the patient. On September 22, 2001, Irma Mendez again fell onto the floor of the Transplant Unit. Reportedly, as a result of the several falls, Irma Mendez sustained severe head injuries. Ultimately, Irma Mendez loss consciousness, was placed on a ventilator, and died on September 23, 2001.
Based on these factual allegations, plaintiff Cynthia Rodriguez commenced this personal injury action on behalf of her deceased mother, Irma Mendez, by filing a summons and complaint on March 23, 2004. Plaintiff alleges numerous acts or omissions on the part of the hospital and its staff, labeling them as negligent malfeasance and nonfeasance. Presently before this Court is plaintiff's motion seeking court leave to submit a belated Notice of Medical Malpractice, pursuant to CPLR §3406. Defendant Mount Sinai Medical Center cross moves for a dismissal of the action on the ground that this is essentially a malpractice action timed-barred by the statute of limitations for medical malpractice.
Discussion
As a threshold matter, this Court must examine the merits of defendant hospital's cross motion, seeking summary judgment dismissing the action as time-barred, since a grant of the cross motion would render plaintiff's motion academic. At the heart of defendant hospital's cross motion, for a dismissal of the action based on statute of limitations, is whether plaintiff's claims are grounded in ordinary negligence or medical malpractice. A medical malpractice action has a 2 ½-year statute of limitations pursuant to CPLR §214-a. A negligence claim has a 3-year statute of limitations pursuant to CPLR §214(5). This action was commenced more than 2 ½ years, but less than 3 years after the events that preceded plaintiff's demise.
"The distinction between medical malpractice and negligence is a subtle one, for medical malpractice is but a species of negligence and no rigid analytical line separates the two." Weiner v. Lenox Hospital, 88 NY2d 784 (1986), quoting Scott v. Uljanov, 74 NY2d 673 (1989). In Bleiler v. Bodnar, 65 NY2d 65, the Court of Appeals articulated the general test to determine whether a challenged conduct constitutes malpractice pursuant to CPLR §214-a. In Bleiler v. Bodnar, the Court was called upon to decide whether the alleged failure of an emergency room nurse to obtain a patient's medical history could be deemed "medical malpractice" within the meaning of the statute. Answering that question in the affirmative, the court held that the limitations p
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