Summary Judgment Dismissal

HPM&B recently obtained summary judgment dismissal of a medical malpractice and defamation action on behalf of an international outpatient dialysis company.  Plaintiff alleged he was improperly involuntarily discharged from dialysis after threatening to reenact a “Columbine Massacre” at the dialysis clinic.  Plaintiff alleged this information was disseminated to NYPD, as well as other dialysis clinics and the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network, rendering him unable to find an alternative outpatient dialysis clinic for nearly seven months, and confining him to inpatient hospital dialysis treatment.

Christina A. Reinle and John P. McNaboe successfully argued that any statements made regarding plaintiff’s threats of violence were true and accurate, and therefore, not defamatory.  Further, plaintiff did not suffer any economic loss as a result of statements made by the staff at the dialysis clinic.  Ms. Reinle and Mr. McNaboe also successfully argued that all medical care provided to and for plaintiff, inclusive of the decision to discharge him from the clinic, comported with the standard of care and Federal guidelines, and plaintiff did not sustain any injuries or damages related to his involuntary discharge from the outpatient dialysis center.  Accordingly, the case was dismissed in its entirety.