Judges

Attorneys and Parties

Brief Summary

Background

The decedent, Lydia Ransier, age 79, allegedly fell at about 4:00 a.m. on June 21, 2018, while receiving home care services, and the resulting injuries allegedly caused her death. Maria Blanco, a home health aide employed by Life Care Services, Inc. (Life Care), had been assigned to care for the decedent and was sleeping in a separate bedroom provided by the family during overnight hours. Life Care was implementing a care plan established by Elderserve Health, Inc. (Elderserve), the managed long-term care insurer. The plaintiff, as executor of the decedent's estate, sued for personal injuries and wrongful death.

Lower Court Decision

The trial court granted summary judgment to Blanco and Life Care and separately to Elderserve, dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against each of them.

Appellate Division Reversal

The Appellate Division held that a defendant responsible for caring for an individual may be liable for abandonment of that individual. It concluded that the plaintiff's evidence, including an expert opinion grounded in the record, created triable issues of fact on causation as to Blanco and Life Care. As to Elderserve, the court held that it failed to establish its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law because it did not show that its alleged negligence could not have been a proximate cause of the decedent's death. Therefore, both summary judgment motions should have been denied.

Legal Significance

This decision reinforces that caregivers and related entities in the home health care setting may face liability when alleged failures in supervision or care contribute to patient injury or death. It also underscores two summary judgment principles: a supported expert opinion can defeat dismissal by raising factual issues on causation, and a moving defendant that fails to negate proximate cause at the outset is not entitled to summary judgment regardless of the opposition's strength.