| Covert v Walker |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 01792 [82 AD3d 825] |
| March 8, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Denise M. Covert et al., Respondents, v Richard F. Walkeret al., Defendants, and Orange Regional Medical Center et al.,Appellants. |
—[*1] Gary Greenwald, Chester, N.Y. (Marc Leffler and David A. Brodsky of counsel), forrespondents.
In an action to recover damages for medical malpractice and wrongful death, the defendantsOrange Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth Ramirez, and Orange Radiology Associates, P.C.,appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Orange County (Cohen, J.), dated February 8, 2010,which denied the motion of the defendant Elizabeth Ramirez for summary judgment dismissingthe complaint insofar as asserted against her.
Ordered that the appeal by the defendants Orange Regional Medical Center and OrangeRadiology Associates, P.C., is dismissed, as they are not aggrieved by the order appealed from(see CPLR 5511); and it is further,
Ordered that the order is reversed on the appeal by the defendant Elizabeth Ramirez, on thelaw, and the motion of the defendant Elizabeth Ramirez for summary judgment dismissing thecomplaint insofar as asserted against her is granted; and it is further,
Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the defendant Elizabeth Ramirez.
The defendant radiologist Elizabeth Ramirez interpreted a CT scan of the thorax of theplaintiffs' decedent on April 26, 2005, and noted, inter alia, the existence of adenopathy (enlargedlymph nodes), which was of uncertain etiology, and recommended correlation with the decedent'sclinical history. A biopsy of the decedent's lung tissue was not taken until December 27, 2005,after the decedent presented to her pulmonologist with a paralyzed vocal cord. The biopsy led toa diagnosis of non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung, and the decedent died from that condition onApril 5, 2006. The administrators of the decedent's estate commenced this action against, interalia, Ramirez, seeking damages for medical malpractice and wrongful death.
"Although physicians owe a general duty of care to their patients, that duty may be limited[*2]to those medical functions undertaken by the physician andrelied on by the patient" (Chulla v DiStefano, 242 AD2d 657, 658 [1997]; seeMarkley v Albany Med. Ctr. Hosp., 163 AD2d 639, 640 [1990]). In support of her motionfor summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against her, Ramirezestablished her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that shefulfilled her duty of care by duly noting in her radiologic report, inter alia, the existence ofadenopathy of uncertain etiology. In opposition, the plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact,as Ramirez had no further responsibility to independently diagnose the decedent's condition (see Dockery v Sprecher, 68 AD3d1043, 1045-1046 [2009]; Mosezhnik v Berenstein, 33 AD3d 895, 897 [2006]; Wasserman v Staten Is. RadiologicalAssoc., 2 AD3d 713, 714 [2003]; Giberson v Panter, 286 AD2d 217 [2001]).
The parties' remaining contentions are without merit.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have granted Ramirez's motion for summaryjudgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against her. Prudenti, P.J., Eng, Belen andSgroi, JJ., concur.