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Ashton v D.O.C.S. Continuum Med. GroupAshton v D.O.C.S. Continuum Med. Group

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Department
Dec 22, 2009
1870 102486/07
Versions:68 AD3d 613
2009 NY Slip Op 09522

Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, New York (Richard E. Lerner of counsel), for appellants.

Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, New York (Sharon Elmaleh-Schoenman of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Alice Schlesinger, J.), entered April 30, 2009, which, insofar as appealed from as limited by the briefs, in this medical malpractice action, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The court properly exercised its discretion in directing plaintiff to submit a supplemental expert affirmation stating the basis for the expert‘s opinion, where defendants were permitted to respond and were not otherwise prejudiced (see Orsini v Postel, 267 AD2d 18 [1999]).

The expert medical affirmation submitted by plaintiff, relying on plaintiff‘s medical records from early 2005 demonstrating the absence of any reference to a cough or a bulge in plaintiff‘s chest, was sufficient to raise an issue of fact as to whether plaintiff‘s disease had progressed to the “bulky” stage during the relevant time period and whether his course of treatment would have been different had the disease been diagnosed earlier. Furthermore, the opinion of plaintiff‘s expert was not merely conclusory, as it relied on plaintiff‘s medical records to draw conclusions (see Boston v Weissbart, 62 AD3d 517 [2009]; compare Parnell v Montefiore Med. Ctr., 63 AD3d 573, 574 [2009]).

Contrary to defendants’ contention, since the opinion of plaintiff‘s expert did not concern a novel scientific theory of causation, a hearing pursuant to Frye v United States, 293 F 1013 [DC Cir 1923], was unnecessary (see e.g. Marsh v Smyth, 12 AD3d 307 [2004]). Concur—Gonzalez, P.J., Tom, Sweeny, Freedman and Abdus-Salaam, JJ.

Case Details

Case Name: Ashton v D.O.C.S. Continuum Med. Group
Court Name: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Department
Date Published: Dec 22, 2009
Citations: 68 AD3d 613; 2009 NY Slip Op 09522; 1870 102486/07
Docket Number: 1870 102486/07
Court Abbreviation: N.Y. App. Div. 1st
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