Michael E. Gallay (Partner-White Plains, NY) and Francis A. Howell (Associate-White Plains, NY) obtained summary judgment in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Westchester County, on behalf of a large hospital system, a pediatric ENT surgeon, and an anesthesiologist. The plaintiffs alleged the improper prescription of oxycodone for pain relief following a tonsillectomy, resulting in the overdose death of the 5-year-old patient five days after the surgery. The summary judgment motion was supported by the expert affirmations of a pediatric ENT, a toxicologist, and a pharmacologist who had done years of research on the effects of oxycodone on pediatric patients. The experts agreed that the medication was prescribed within the standard of care for ENT surgery, the dosage was appropriate, and the post-mortem oxycodone levels indicated the child must have received significantly more than prescribed. In opposition, plaintiffs’ counsel submitted only the affirmation of a retired pediatrician who never performed a tonsillectomy, never prescribed oxycodone to a pediatric post-operative patient, and lacked training in pharmacology or toxicology. The court adopted Michael and Francis’s reply argument, finding that the plaintiffs’ purported expert merely cited out-of-context medical literature, constituting inadmissible hearsay, and failed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the applicable standard of care for prescription of oxycodone or pertinent pharmacological factors of pediatric oxycodone use. Accordingly, the court held that Wilson Elser met the burden of demonstrating a prima facie right to summary judgment and that the plaintiff expert’s affirmation was insufficient to create an issue of fact.