VBPNP Team Secures Summary Judgment

On March 22, 2022, Dawn Bristol and Andres Sanchez secured summary judgment in favor of a Brooklyn based physician and his practice in Supreme Court, Kings County.

Plaintiff argued that our client was liable for the negligent off-site administration of Radiesse dermal filler injections administered by a co-defendant nurse. The subject procedure was performed inside of the co-defendant’s private residence. Shortly after, plaintiff experienced an adverse reaction to the dermal filler and was diagnosed at an outside hospital with facial cellulitis. Injuries claimed included ischemia, necrosis, permanent scarring of the face and nerve damages. Plaintiff’s main contention was that our client was involved in a joint enterprise in the co-defendant’s off-site aesthetic practice.

However, at plaintiff’s deposition it was established that plaintiff never treated or consulted with our client for the procedure. Rather all treatment and payment for services was transacted directly with co-defendant. Accordingly, Mr. Sanchez argued that our client was entitled to summary judgment because no physician-patient relationship existed giving rise to any duty to plaintiff, inasmuch as our client did not examine or treat plaintiff, nor did he provide the dermal filler to the co-defendant nurse for the off-site procedure. The Court agreed, finding that the record was devoid of any evidence to substantiate plaintiff’s theories of liability.