Kallenberg v. Beth Israel Hospital
| Citation | 45 A.D.2d 177,357 N.Y.S.2d 508 |
| Parties | Bruce KALLENBERG, etc., of Belle Kallenberg, Deceased, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. BETH ISRAEL HOSPITAL et al., Defendants-Appellants, and Whitestone General Hospital, Defendant. |
| Decision Date | 27 June 1974 |
| Court | New York Supreme Court Appellate Division |
Thomas R. Newman, New York City, of counsel (Benjamin H. Siff and Daniel E. Siff, New York City, with him on the brief; Bower & Gardner, New York City, attys.), for appellant Beth Israel Hospital.
Richard J. Nealon, New York City, of counsel (Martin, Clearwater & Bell, Syracuse, attys.), for appellant Arthur Kirschenbaum. Norman Bard, Brooklyn, of counsel (James E. Hannon, New York City, by Weinstein, Chayt & Bard, P.C., Brooklyn, attys.), for appellant Ralph Adelman.
Alfred S. Julien, New York City, of counsel (Helen B. Stoller, New York City, with him on the brief; Julien, Blitz & Schlesinger, P.C., New York City, attys.), for plaintiff-respondent.
Before McGIVERN, P.J., and MARKEWICH, STEUER, CAPOZOLI and MACKEN, JJ.
In this action to recover damages for wrongful death arising out of alleged negligence and malpractice, the defendants, Beth Israel Hospital, Dr. A. Kirschenbaum and Dr. Ralph Adelman, appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiff, entered upon a jury's verdict against all defendants, in the sum of $55,000 for wrongful death, and $15,000 for pain and suffering.
The decedent, Mrs. Belle Kallenberg, then 55 years of age, died on August 26, 1965, at Beth Israel Hospital, following her third hemorrhage from a cerebral aneurysm. She had been admitted to this hospital on August 19, 1965, as a private patient of the individual defendants, Dr. Adelman, a general practitioner and Dr. Kirschenbaum, a neurosurgeon. Upon her admission it was determined that she was in need of a specific medication to reduce her blood pressure and keep it at a reasonably low level; Naturetin was the drug of choice, and Dr. Adelman undertook the administration of this drug immediately, and it was directed that it be continued to be administered every day in the morning. For some unexplained reason, this drug was never administered to the decedent, although its administration was considered necessary to prepare her for needed surgery by Dr. Kirschenbaum.
On August 22, Mrs. Kallenberg developed symptoms of a recurrence of bleeding, including neurological deterioration. A spinal tap disclosed fresh bleeding and medication was used to reduce her blood pressure, but not Naturetin.
On August 23, Mrs. Kallenberg's condition was grave, and so continued through August 25, with a mounting blood pressure, which went to a critical high of 240 of August 26, at which time Mrs. Kallenberg suffered a final hemorrhage and died at 8:30 A.M.
The gravamen of the complaint and bill of particulars is that the individual defendants, by failure to give the indicated drug of choice, permitted Mrs. Kallenberg to be placed under a course of drug therapy which did not allow her to reach an operable condition; but instead permitted and allowed her condition to deteriorate, and so ultimately she died.
The defendant, Dr. Adelman, conceded at the trial that control of Mrs. Kallenberg's blood pressure by proper medication meant the difference between life and death and that Naturetin was a critical drug for her. The hospital and the two attending physicians, the individual defendants, were at law responsible for the administration of this drug. The failure to administer this drug of choice was a departure from accepted medical practice and procedure. Plaintiff's experts testified that Mrs. Kallenberg's failure to recover from the bleeding experienced on August 22 was due to the failure to provide her with the medication necessary to reduce her blood pressure so that she could undergo surgery. These experts testified that Mrs. Kallenberg did not reach a stage where nothing further could be done for her until some 72 hours after treatment should have been commenced following the August 22 development. The defendant, Dr. Adelman, admitted knowledge of the fact that Naturetin was not administered, as it should have been for four days preceding Mrs. Kallenberg's death.
On the submission of the case to the jury, the Trial Justice, in an effort to isolate the possible areas of malpractice, submitted a series of five questions, one of which (Item Two) requested the jury to determine whether or not the .
The defendants argued that the failure to give Mrs. Kallenberg Naturetin after her rebleed on August 22 did not cause her rise in blood pressure and the fatal hemorrhage. The dissenting opinion embraces this argument stating: 'According to Dr. Lieberman, plaintiff's most prestigious expert, her condition was then terminal and could not be reversed.' We do not find that the record sustains either the contentions of the defendants or the conclusion stated in the dissenting opinion.
The record discloses that Mrs. Kallenberg's condition did not become irreversible until some 72 hours after the August...
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