Saar v. Brown and Odabashian, P.C.

Anita Saar (plaintiff) was the administratrix of the estate of Elmer Hernits. Saars sued, among others, the Albany Medical Center (hospital), Dr. Harry C. Odabashian Jr., and Brown and Odabashian, P.C. (defendants) in connection with Hernits’s death by heart attack. Per Saar, Hernits would have lived if he had received a bypass operation, but the surgery was not performed due to the negligent handling of Hernits’s medical records. Pursuant to Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) § 3101(d)(1), Saar asked the hospital and Odabashian to identify their intended expert trial witnesses and to disclose in reasonable detail (1) the subject matter about which each expert was expected to testify, (2) the substance of the facts and opinions to which each expert was expected to testify, (3) each expert’s qualifications, and (4) a summary of the grounds for each expert’s opinion. The hospital responded by identifying its expert and his qualifications and by stating that the expert would testify that (1) Hernits was clinically stable and did not have an emergency need for a bypass operation and (2) the hospital acted properly in all respects and did not commit malpractice. Odabashian stated that he was as yet unable to identify an expert witness but would provide that information before trial. Saar then moved under CPLR § 3126 for an order precluding the hospital and Odabashian from introducing any expert witnesses at trial due to their asserted failure to sufficiently respond to Saar’s § 3101(d)(1) requests.