The attorney representing the injured baby asked the court to prevent the defense lawyers from putting on expert witnesses who were going to claim that the injuries sustained by the baby was caused by the process of giving birth. The defense lawyers were trying to claim that the doctor and the hospital had nothing to do with the baby's injuries, and were instead caused by the natural birth process.
The trial judge agreed with the attorney who represented the baby and her family. The order prohibited the medical experts for the defense from using this argument as a defense.
The appellate court agreed with the trial judge. It said the court did not overstep its bounds to render such a decision. In addition, it also stated that the defense argument lacked an adequate foundation for this theory.
What this means is that the defense failed to establish a coherent argument together with supporting medical evidence and testimony to show that the baby's injuries had nothing to do with the doctor or hospital's actions, but rather were a result of the normal birth process.
So why is this case important if you have a potential medical malpractice case here in New York?
It's important because here the attorney for the injured victim made an attempt to have a key defense argument thrown out of court before the trial. This is an excellent strategic move. Since the plaintiff's attorney was successful, the defense will not be able to argue at trial that the baby's injuries resulted from natural causes. They will have to come up with some other relevant excuse about why this child suffered an injury to her arm at the time of birth.
Gerry practices law exclusively in the State of New York. Within New York he practices primarily in the following counties: New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk. Technically, Brooklyn is known as "Kings County," and Manhattan and New York City are known as "New York County." Staten Island is known as "Richmond County." These counties make up the New York metropolitan area.
