Irv Hirsch (Partner-New York) and Jordan Conger (Associate-New York) were awarded summary judgment in New York County Supreme Court in a medical malpractice action against a nephrologist who treated the plaintiff at a co-defendant dialysis center. The plaintiff alleged that he experienced pain during dialysis sessions, and thereafter presented to the emergency department at co-defendant hospital, where an ultrasound showed a possible foreign body in the proximal area of the cephalic vein. He failed to attend a follow-up consultation and returned to the co-defendant dialysis center for treatment. Plaintiff informed our client of the ER visit and our client advised him to follow up with his primary care physician and vascular surgeon, which he put off for two months, at which time it was discovered the foreign body had migrated, and the plaintiff was forced to undergo median sternotomy removal of the foreign body from the heart. The plaintiff alleged that our client failed to properly administer or supervise hemodialysis, failed to investigate the plaintiff's complaints, failed to refer for imaging, and failed to refer him to a vascular consult.

Following the close of discovery, Irv and Jordan moved for summary judgment arguing that our client treated the plaintiff within the standard of care and did not proximately cause his injuries. Our expert opined that the standard of care did not require our client to refer the plaintiff for further imaging or to follow the foreign body, as the plaintiff had already been referred to appropriate consults for such management. We argued that we met our burden and plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact. The court agreed and granted our motion, dismissing all claims against our client. The codefendant dialysis center’s motion was denied and the plaintiff will continue his case against them.