White v. Turitz

2024 NY Slip Op 33085(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedAugust 30, 2024
DocketIndex No. 805070/2020
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2024 NY Slip Op 33085(U) (White v. Turitz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
White v. Turitz, 2024 NY Slip Op 33085(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2024).

Opinion

White v Turitz 2024 NY Slip Op 33085(U) August 30, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 805070/2020 Judge: Kathy J. King Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 805070/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 77 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/03/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. KATHY J. KING PART 06 Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 805070/2020 MELISSA WHITE, MOTION DATE 07/18/2022 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 -v- AMY L. TURITZ, SIERRA SEAMAN, MARIA ANDRIKOPOULOU, BRUCE FEINBERG, MARILYN C. BALICO, THE NEW YORK AND PRESBYTERIAN DECISION + ORDER ON HOSPITAL, NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN THE MOTION UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF COLUMBIA AND CORNELL

Defendant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS .

Upon the foregoing papers, and after oral argument, Defendants AMY L. TURITZ, M.D.,

SIERRA SEAMAN, M.D., MARIA ANDRIKOPOULOU, M.D., BRUCE FEINBERG, M.D.,

MARILYN C. BALICO, R.N., THE NEW YORK AND PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL and

NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF COLUMBIA AND

CORNELL1 move for summary judgment, pursuant to CPLR 3212, dismissing Plaintiff’s

complaint with prejudice, and directing the Clerk of the Court to enter judgment in favor of the

Defendants and against the Plaintiff together with statutory costs and disbursements.

Plaintiff opposes Defendants’ motion and argues that the requested relief be denied in its

entirety.

“The New York and Presbyterian Hospital” and “New York-Presbyterian The University Hospital of 1

Columbia and Cornell” are the same entity and are referred to hereinafter as New York Presbyterian. 805070/2020 WHITE, MELISSA vs. TURITZ, M.D., AMY L. Page 1 of 12 Motion No. 001

1 of 12 [* 1] INDEX NO. 805070/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 77 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/03/2024

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff’s complaint sounds in medical malpractice, and contains three causes of actions

- medical malpractice, negligent hiring and/or supervision, and lack of informed consent. The

essence of the claim is that Defendants negligently caused and failed to timely detect and treat an

enterotomy—a perforation of the bowel, also known as the intestine—alleged to have occurred

during Plaintiff’s C-section surgery and which allegedly remained undetected during Plaintiff’s

subsequent post-operative hospitalization.

FACTS

Plaintiff Melissa White presented to Dr. Amy Turitz at New York Presbyterian on

December 28, 2017, for an initial prenatal examination. The record indicates that Plaintiff had a

medical history of preeclampsia/chronic hypertension with preterm labor, history of classical C-

section, and obesity. Thereafter, on July 17, 2018, she presented to New York Presbyterian for a

scheduled C-section to be performed by Dr. Turitz. She was advised by physician assistant Petra

Sealy about potential risks and complications of the surgical procedure, and Plaintiff signed the

surgical consent form. Dr. Turitz also signed a note describing this discussion in Plaintiff’s

medical records. The C-section was performed by Dr. Turitz who was assisted by Dr. Sierra

Seaman and Dr. Maria Andrikopoulou. During the surgical procedure, Plaintiff’s bowel and

bladder were observed and noted to be adhered to the abdominal wall, requiring Dr.Turitz to

further separate the rectus muscles to gain access to the peritoneal cavity and uterus.2 Plaintiff’s

medical records indicate that “[a]ll surgical sites were inspected and deemed to be hemostatic.”

Plaintiff was taken to recover in stable condition. Although the operative report noted that there

were no complications, it also noted several times that the C-section was “complicated by

2 Neither party raises objections or complications with the extraction of the infant. 805070/2020 WHITE, MELISSA vs. TURITZ, M.D., AMY L. Page 2 of 12 Motion No. 001

2 of 12 [* 2] INDEX NO. 805070/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 77 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/03/2024

adhesions” with an estimated 1,200 mL of blood loss. Plaintiff testified at her deposition that

coming out of the C-section, she felt “[d]azed, groggy, uncomfortable, nauseous,” and her pain

level was around a seven or eight out of ten. Plaintiff’s medical records indicate that she was

given medications post-operatively for severe to moderate pain as well as for nausea and

vomiting. Plaintiff alleges her abdomen was hard and swollen post operatively. The records

show that Plaintiff was discharged from the recovery unit on July 17, 2018, based on normal

vitals.

Plaintiff’s medical records indicate that on July 18, 2018, Plaintiff had tolerated a regular

diet, her pain was adequately controlled by medication, and she was not yet ambulating or

passing flatus. Plaintiff denied any nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, chest pain, headache or

dizziness. Plaintiff was assessed by Dr. Bruce Feinberg, M.D., the attending OB/GYN, who

indicated Plaintiff had a normal post-operative course after a C-section complicated by

adhesions, and vital signs were stable. On July 18th, nausea and vomiting were documented,

plaintiff was tachycardic, was not able to tolerate a regular diet prior to being discharged, and

had received additional medications for pain.

On July 19, 2018, while Plaintiff’s medical records indicate normal blood pressure, some

vomiting and nausea, incisional pain controlled with medications, positive bowel sounds and

flatus, Plaintiff testified in her EBT that Marilyn C. Balico, R.N. was unresponsive to her

complaints.

Plaintiff was discharged from the hospital on the morning of July 20, 2018, and medical

records show no further vomiting, vitals in the normal range, and ability to ambulate most of the

night. However, Plaintiff claims she felt “horrible” after discharge and had trouble breastfeeding

due to the continued pain, despite taking medication, and testified that she was experiencing

805070/2020 WHITE, MELISSA vs. TURITZ, M.D., AMY L. Page 3 of 12 Motion No. 001

3 of 12 [* 3] INDEX NO. 805070/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 77 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/03/2024

vomiting, had abdominal and back pain, difficulty sleeping, felt hot, had difficulties going to the

bathroom and passing flatus, difficulty taking deep breaths, and had trouble walking due to pain.

On July 21, 2018, one day after discharge, Plaintiff called Dr. Turitz’s office and was

instructed by the on-call doctor to continue taking the pain medication as instructed and to call

back or go into the office if her symptoms did not improve within two days. The next day,

Plaintiff experienced a “fluttering sensation” in her chest and presented to Lawrence Hospital

with complaints of shortness of breath with discomfort in her abdomen; Plaintiff was

tachycardic, febrile, and had fecal matter at the C-section incision site, with purulent drainage

(pus). At Lawrence Hospital, Plaintiff was given morphine for pain and subsequently transferred

to Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

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