Supreme Court, Ulster County

The plaintiff alleged negligence and medical malpractice after a 90-year-old female inpatient was found on the floor. The patient evidently sustained a slightly impacted subcapital fracture of the left hip. The court held that the plaintiff’s allegations against the defendant invoked “medical determination” and sounded in medical malpractice. Accordingly, the court found that those claims were time barred pursuant to CPLR 214-a. The plaintiff’s wrongful death claim was similarly time-barred. The court held that with respect to any potential “separate” cause of action in negligence, that the defendant hospital met its “heavy” burden of establishing entitlement to summary judgment through the deposition testimony of the parties and its nursing expert affidavit. All appropriate fall protocols were in place. The court found that the plaintiff failed to rebut the defendant’s burden.