Smith v. Tyras

• Decision Date: 19 October 1999
• Citation: 696 N.Y.S.2d 154
• Parties: Jeannette H. SMITH, etc., et al., Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Denis Howard TYRAS, M.D., et al., Defendants-Appellants, and Mumtaz Husain Jafri, M.D., et al., Defendants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 154

696 N.Y.S.2d 154

Jeannette H. SMITH, etc., et al., Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Denis Howard TYRAS, M.D., et al., Defendants-Appellants, and Mumtaz Husain Jafri, M.D., et al., Defendants.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Oct. 19, 1999.

Alan L. Fuchsberg, for Plaintiffs-Respondents.

Michael J. Gudzy, for Defendants-Appellants.

SULLIVAN, J.P., NARDELLI, WILLIAMS, MAZZARELLI and ANDRIAS, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Karla Moskowitz, J.), entered on or about June 30, 1998, which, in an action for medical malpractice, granted plaintiffs' motion to vacate their default in appearing for a compliance conference, and to amend the complaint so as to allege a cause of action for wrongful death, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The merit of plaintiffs' causes of action was amply demonstrated by the sworn affidavit of a physician clearly qualified to opine on the standards of care that defendants should have provided to the decedent, which affidavit clearly explained how defendants' departures from those standards contributed to the decedent's death. We have considered defendants' other arguments and find them to be without merit.