Park v. Chessin

88 Misc. 2d 222, 387 N.Y.S.2d 204, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2656
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 2, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 88 Misc. 2d 222 (Park v. Chessin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Park v. Chessin, 88 Misc. 2d 222, 387 N.Y.S.2d 204, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2656 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1976).

Opinion

Harold Hyman, J.

The complaint herein presents various claims arising out of claimed medical malpractice and/or fraud. The matter presents interesting and controversial contentions in modern day law.

The basic claim pleaded herein is by the legal representatives, mother and father of a child born to said parents. The child survived her birth for approximately two and one-half years; and during such period lived her short life in pain and suffering with and from polycystic kidneys and other diseases. Through the medium of the administrators of her estate, she makes claim in tort against the defendant doctors for conscious pain and suffering sustained by her after birth, contending that as a result of the defendants’ medical malpractice she was conceived and born when she should not have been conceived or born. Such type of claim has in recent years received nomenclature in the field of torts as one for "wrongful life” and/or the "right not to be born”. (Gleitman v Cosgrove, 49 NJ 22; Ann., 22 ALR3d 1441.)

The present claim brings directly to the forefront the highly controversial issue of whether any such asserted claim is legally viable. Does there exist after birth a legal right to make claim for pain and suffering resulting from a tort committed prior to conception and thus having been conceived and born; thus, in retrospect, to choose not only not to have been born but what is more, not to have been conceived?

Of course, on cursory observation it might be said that if a viable cause of action herein exists, it could lead to many and myriad ramifications of actions. On the other hand, on a true analysis and study, it would seem to this court that such would not and could not take place and, therefore, prior decisions may have regrettably held to such insupportable statement in holding such to be a deterrent to the viability of an action of this nature.

This and other issues resultant therefrom herewith present themselves upon defendants’ motion to dismiss "all” of the causes of action alleged in the complaint for failure "to state a cause of action” (CPLR 3211, subd [a], par 7).

/It must be observed that at this point we are not dealing with an action for wrongful death under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (art 5, §§ 5-4.1-5-4.5) in considering whether or not the deceased child, through her representatives, has an action for conscious pain and suffering resultant from her wrongful conception and wrongful birth. A wrongful death [224]*224action does not exist; any contention otherwise was laid to rest by Endresz v Friedberg (24 NY2d 478).

The court is mindful of the admonition that on a motion addressed to the sufficiency of a complaint, the pleading must be: — deemed to allege whatever can be implied from its statements by fair intendment (Kober v Kober, 16 NY2d 191, 193), liberally construed (CPLR 3026), assumed to be true (Denihan Enterprises v O’Dwyer, 302 NY 451, 458), and the cause or causes of action must stand "If in any aspect upon the facts stated the plaintiff is entitled to a recovery” (Kober v Kober, supra, p 193). In this regard consideration must be given to the entire complaint (Dulberg v Mock, 1 NY2d 54, 56; Howard Stores Corp. v Pope, 1 NY2d 110, 114). Since, therefore, this determination must be made on the complaint only, the issue of whether plaintiffs will or will not be ultimately able to establish their allegations by competent evidence is one not pertinent to present consideration (Cohn v Lionel Corp., 21 NY2d 559, 560; Kober v Kober, supra).

Bearing in mind the foregoing, this court will first examine the "sixth” cause of action as alleged in the complaint.

THE SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION

This cause of action is brought by the natural parents on behalf of and as the legal representatives of the estate of the infant, Lara, also known as Lara E. Park, deceased, hereinafter called "Lara”.

The complaint, supplemented by plaintiffs’ bill of particulars, claims that: — both defendants are licensed doctors, "specialists” in the field of obstetrics; that Mrs. Park, the mother of the infant decedent, Lara, had previous to the birth of Lara given birth to a child in June, 1969; that the prior child was born with polycystic kidneys and other conditions and died a short time after its birth; that defendant, Dr. Chessin, was in charge of that delivery; that after the death of the prior child, defendants rendered medical care and advice to the mother between June, 1969 and July 31, 1970; that based upon such advice the mother became pregnant, resulting in the birth of the presently involved infant, Lara, on July 31, 1970; that the defendant Gibstein supervised and delivered said child; that this child (Lara), plaintiff now deceased, was also born suffering from polycystic kidneys from which she died two and one-half years later; that defendants were guilty of malpractice because of the negligent care, treatment and advice given to [225]*225the mother which, they maintain, was not in accord with accepted medical standards in that the medical care and advice was improper by failing to inform the mother and father of the deceased infant of the risk of said infant’s being born with such congenital defects inherent in another pregnancy; that defendants represented to the mother that the condition of the prior (1969) deceased child did not indicate any reason for the mother not to become pregnant again and that there was no reason to fear that a future pregnancy would result in the birth of an unhealthy, congenitally defective child; that defendants did not inform them that polycystic kidney disease was hereditary in nature; that defendants failed to take tests to ascertain the chromosomal and/or genetic makeup of the mother and father so as to ascertain the possibilities and probabilities on a rational basis of any birth following that of their male child born in June, 1969 who was afflicted with said congenital kidney disease, and in advising, informing and assuring the mother and father that any child conceived and born to them subsequent to the birth of the child in 1969 would not be similarly afflicted without any test data as a basis for such advice; and by giving the plaintiffs such reassurance without having made any research or investigation into relevant medical information then available concerning said condition and its congenital hereditary nature.

It is also contended that the representations were false in that there was some likelihood that a future pregnancy would again result in a baby being born with polycystic kidneys and that such representation was made to the mother and father of the deceased infant for the purposes of inducing them to have another child; that such representations were made with knowledge of their falsity, with reckless disregard for the truth, with pretense of knowledge, and without ascertaining or inquiring as to the correct facts and circumstances; that Lara was born with polycystic kidneys and other conditions and suffered conscious pain and anguish, necessitating extensive hospitalization, tests and procedures.

Although the above series of allegations, supplemented by the bill of particulars, which constitute the "sixth” cause of action are an admixture of alleged malpractice and fraud, the court has considered them all to be in effect one, that is, the tort (malpractice) action asserted by the infant, now deceased, for pain and suffering resulting from her birth in violation of [226]

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Bluebook (online)
88 Misc. 2d 222, 387 N.Y.S.2d 204, 1976 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2656, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/park-v-chessin-nysupct-1976.