RRD Secures Summary Judgment in Medical Malpractice Case

RRD partner John F. Costa and associate Liam M. West recently obtained summary judgment in favor of their client, a nursing home, in a medical malpractice action.

In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged that he developed pressure ulcers and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while he was a resident at the defendant’s nursing home. The plaintiff, however, insisted that his claim was one for ordinary negligence and refused to disclose a medical standard of care expert. In granting the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, the court held that the plaintiff’s allegations, the evidence submitted by the defendant in support of its motion, and the case law surrounding this issue, all led conclusively to the determination that the plaintiff’s action sounded in medical malpractice. The court further held that, without a medical expert, the plaintiff would be unable to prove a prima facie case of medical malpractice.