Discontinuance of All Claims in Nassau County

Peter DeNoto and his team obtained a discontinuance of all claims against a prominent long-term care center on January 7, 2015. 

In this Nassau County case, then 79-year-old deceased-plaintiff was injured on December 22, 2009 while crossing Sunrise Highway in Nassau County.  She was struck by a motor vehicle owned and operated by co-defendants, and she was admitted to a local hospital with a fractured left ankle, fractured pelvis, and fractured cervical vertebrae.  On February 4, 2010, she was transferred to the long-term care center, where she remained until February 24, 2010.  At that time, she was transferred to the emergency room at the local hospital to rule out sepsis, and she died on April 30, 2010. 

Co-defendants settled the case, and the discontinuance was made possible by a favorable ruling from the court wherein it concluded that plaintiff’s claims against the long-term care center were medical malpractice claims that had to be supported by an appropriate expert.  Among other things, plaintiff’s counsel was directed to serve expert witness disclosure.  When plaintiffs failed to do so by the time that we appeared for jury selection, they had no way of establishing a claim directly against the long-term care center.  Plaintiffs discontinued all claims against the long-term care center rather than have those claims dismissed by the court for failing to serve expert disclosure.