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Olaechea v. Mundy

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Mar 2, 2021
192 A.D.3d 407 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021)

Opinion

13237 Index No. 805195/14 Case No. 2020-02945

03-02-2021

Cecile OLAECHEA, etc., Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Daniel MUNDY, Defendant, Katherine Maloy, et al., Defendants–Respondents.

The Law Office of Bruce W. Slane, P.C., White Plains (Jeremy D. Barberi of counsel), for appellant. James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, New York (Jamison Davies of counsel), for respondents.


The Law Office of Bruce W. Slane, P.C., White Plains (Jeremy D. Barberi of counsel), for appellant.

James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, New York (Jamison Davies of counsel), for respondents.

Gische, J.P., Mazzarelli, Gonza´lez, Mendez, JJ.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (George J. Silver, J.), entered May 15, 2020, which granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The decedent presented to the emergency department of defendant Bellevue Hospital with suicidal ideation while under the influence of PCP. He was held overnight for evaluation and monitoring. The next morning, the decedent was examined and found to be no longer exhibiting signs of PCP intoxication or withdrawal. When questioned, he denied having suicidal thoughts, and appeared calm, cooperative, and open to treatment. He was given a follow-up appointment for outpatient treatment and discharged. Approximately three hours later, the decedent died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A post-mortem toxicology report suggested that he had consumed PCP following his discharge and was intoxicated at the time of death.

Defendants established prima facie that they did not depart from good and accepted medical practice in discharging the decedent after he had been evaluated (see Anyie B. v. Bronx Lebanon Hosp., 128 A.D.3d 1, 3, 5 N.Y.S.3d 92 [1st Dept. 2015] ). The decedent's medical records and the testimony of the physicians who treated him show that he had no history of suicide attempts or psychiatric diagnoses and that the suicidal ideation with which he had presented was intensified by PCP intoxication, which had subsided by the next morning, when the decedent expressed that he was no longer having suicidal thoughts. Defendants’ psychiatric expert opined that defendants’ care and treatment of the decedent was consistent with accepted medical practice and that it was appropriate for defendants to discharge the decedent after evaluation, since he denied any suicidal ideation, exhibited no symptoms of intoxication or withdrawal, and presented as calm, cooperative, amenable to outpatient treatment, and adamant about the reasons that he wanted to live (see generally Durney v. Terk, 42 A.D.3d 335, 336–337, 840 N.Y.S.2d 30 [1st Dept. 2007], lv denied 9 N.Y.3d 813, 848 N.Y.S.2d 24, 878 N.E.2d 608 [2007] ; Schrempf v. State of New York, 66 N.Y.2d 289, 295–296, 496 N.Y.S.2d 973, 487 N.E.2d 883 [1985] ).

In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact. There is no evidentiary basis for plaintiff's experts’ opinion that defendants’ pre-discharge evaluation of the decedent was unprofessional, and the record contradicts the expert's conclusion that the decedent was still suicidal and unstable at the time of discharge and should either have been held involuntarily or admitted for in-patient treatment (see generally Diaz v. New York Downtown Hosp., 99 N.Y.2d 542, 545, 754 N.Y.S.2d 195, 784 N.E.2d 68 [2002] ). Further, plaintiff's expert opinion that the decision to discharge the decedent led to his death is speculative (see Park v. Kovachevich, 116 A.D.3d 182, 190–191, 982 N.Y.S.2d 75 [1st Dept. 2014], lv denied 23 N.Y.3d 906, 2014 WL 2609626 [2014] ).

We have considered plaintiffs’ remaining contentions and find them unavailing.


Summaries of

Olaechea v. Mundy

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Mar 2, 2021
192 A.D.3d 407 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021)
Case details for

Olaechea v. Mundy

Case Details

Full title:Cecile Olaechea, etc., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Daniel Mundy, Defendant…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

Date published: Mar 2, 2021

Citations

192 A.D.3d 407 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021)
192 A.D.3d 407
2021 N.Y. Slip Op. 1234