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Pierson v. Good Samaritan Hospital

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Oct 3, 1994
208 A.D.2d 513 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)

Opinion

October 3, 1994

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Meehan, J.).


Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The plaintiffs commenced this medical malpractice action against the defendant Ramapo Radiology Associates (hereinafter Ramapo) alleging that Ramapo members failed to properly interpret the plaintiff's x-rays. In support of its summary judgment motion, the defendant Ramapo submitted an affidavit by Dr. Joel Canter, a Board certified radiologist, in which he stated that he had reviewed the plaintiff's medical records and x-rays and determined that the radiological studies were properly taken, interpreted and reported by the various members of the defendant Ramapo. The court properly concluded that this affidavit was adequate to establish, prima facie, that the radiological studies were properly performed and interpreted (see generally, Alvarez v. Prospect Hosp., 68 N.Y.2d 320; Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853).

Once the movant demonstrates a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, the burden shifts to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment to produce evidentiary proof in admissible form sufficient to establish the existence of material issues of fact which require a trial of the action (see, Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562; Alvarez v. Prospect Hosp., 68 N.Y.2d 320, 324, supra). In a medical malpractice action, a plaintiff, in opposition to a defendant physician's summary judgment motion, must submit evidentiary facts or materials to rebut the prima facie showing by the defendant physician that he was not negligent in treating the plaintiff so as to demonstrate the existence of a triable issue of fact (see, Fileccia v. Massapequa Gen. Hosp., 63 N.Y.2d 639). At bar, in opposition to Ramapo's summary judgment motion, the plaintiffs' attorney submitted an affirmation containing conclusory allegations which simply repeated the allegations contained in the complaint. Accordingly, because the attorney's affirmation did not present any evidentiary facts "tending to establish the essential elements of medical malpractice" (Alvarez v. Prospect Hosp., supra, at 325), the court properly granted Ramapo's motion for summary judgment. Sullivan, J.P., Rosenblatt, Altman, Hart and Friedmann, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Pierson v. Good Samaritan Hospital

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Oct 3, 1994
208 A.D.2d 513 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)
Case details for

Pierson v. Good Samaritan Hospital

Case Details

Full title:GERALDINE PIERSON et al., Appellants, v. GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL et al.…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Oct 3, 1994

Citations

208 A.D.2d 513 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)
616 N.Y.S.2d 815

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