Five Appeals Court Judges have granted summary judgment to the plaintiff in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the estate of a man who died at a Rochester-area hospital.
The estate of Liston Cyrus sued Rochester Regional Healthy, which operates Unity Hospital at Park Ridge. Mr. Cyrus, who was 56 when he died, was president of the Albany chapter of the NAACP.
Mr. Cyrus was visiting Rochester on June 1, 2019, when he went to Unity at 12:30 p.m. complaining of back pain radiating from his abdomen. Mr. Cyrus died at the hospital the next day.
An autopsy determined the cause of death was aortic dissection, when the layers of the aorta separate, or are torn, which allows blood to flow between the layers.
The lawsuit claims the hospital was negligent in failing to diagnose and treat Mr. Cyrus.
On behalf of the Cyrus estate, Lacy Katzen, LLP, filed a motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability claiming that several of the hospital employees were negligent in the care and treatment of Mr. Cyrus in failing to treat the aortic dissection causing the aorta to rupture.
The appeals court unanimously found that the estate of Mr. Cyrus had established entitlement to summary judgment. The appeals court found that the hospital failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition.
Attorney Peter T. Rodgers represented the estate of Mr. Cyrus. Granting a patient’s motion for summary judgment in a malpractice case “is very rare”, Rodgers said.
Next, the case will go to a jury trial to determine the damages.
If you have any questions, please contact Peter T. Rodgers.
