Neil S. Kornfeld and Tracy S. Katz obtained a defense verdict in an alleged medical malpractice case against a New York City Hospital.   The case involved the care and treatment of a father of three teenage children, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in his death.  The patient was diagnosed with tonsil cancer and successfully underwent surgery to remove the tumor.  Two days post-operatively, the patient developed a fever and contacted the hospital.  The hospital suspected he may have Covid and instructed him to stay home unless he developed any additional symptoms.  Several hours later, the patient started coughing up blood and died suddenly.  The autopsy revealed the cause of death was due to an unrelated, unforeseen complication, a duodenal hemorrhage.

The defense argued that the hospital had immunity for the decisions and actions with respect to the care at issue, under the Emergency Disaster Treatment Protection Act (EDTPA) and further that the hospital’s actions were entirely reasonable and in accordance with good and accepted standards of care.  Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for over $15 million in lost earnings, loss of guidance and support and conscious pain and suffering.

After a two-week trial in New York Supreme Court, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the defense, finding that the decisions and actions of the hospital were impacted by the unprecedented circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.