Senior Partner, Rosaleen T. McCrory and Of Counsel, Antony M. Chionchio secured a summary judgment win on behalf of our home care client in Nassau County before Justice Jeffrey Brown. Co-defendant who asserted cross claims against our client remains a party to the action.
In this matter, the plaintiff alleges that defendants failed to provide good and accepted care to the decedent which resulted in multiple infected decubitus ulcers, sepsis, and his wrongful death. We submitted the affirmation of a Geriatric Medicine expert who opines that our client adhered to the accepted standards of practice while rendering home care to the plaintiff.
We argued that our client complied with the standards of care and its actions as a home care agency were not the cause of any pressure ulcers and did not exacerbate any existing ulcers.
Namely, we asserted that our client’s overall care was limited to short visits and its staff was responsible for examining pressure ulcers and providing treatment as ordered by the decedent’s physician. Our client was not responsible for daily preventative measures such as turning and repositioning, which duties fell under the responsibilities of the co-defendant home health aide agency. We also argued that our client provided education to the decedent and his family regarding proper diet, hydration and how to monitor and prevent pressure ulcers. We further asserted that an appropriate care plan was developed and pressure ulcer risk assessments were correctly scored and that the client’s staff appropriately followed the wound care treatment orders of the patient’s physician and timely reported any changes in the patient’s condition. Moreover, we set forth that plaintiff failed to make any showing of gross recklessness or malicious or wanton disregard of the Plaintiff’s wellbeing while under the care of our client warranting an award of punitive damages.
The Court found that we made a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment. Neither plaintiff nor co-defendant’s counsel who asserted cross claims against our client opposed our application. Accordingly, the Court granted our motion in its entirety and dismissed the action as against our client home care agency.