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  • Nature of The Case:: Melfi V Mount Sinai Hosp

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    Leonard Melfi suffered congestive heart failure and was brought to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he did not receive treatment and later died. His body was then sent to a community college for embalming practice and buried in a mass grave, and his family was not notified of his death for over two months. Leonard's brother John Melfi sued Mount Sinai Hospital for medical malpractice, wrongful death, loss of sepulcher, and fraudulent concealment. The court dismissed the punitive damages claim against Mount Sinai for loss of sepulcher but allowed the other claims to proceed.

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    Leonard Melfi suffered congestive heart failure and was brought to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he did not receive treatment and later died. His body was then sent to a community college for embalming practice and buried in a mass grave, and his family was not notified of his death for over two months. Leonard's brother John Melfi sued Mount Sinai Hospital for medical malpractice, wrongful death, loss of sepulcher, and fraudulent concealment. The court dismissed the punitive damages claim against Mount Sinai for loss of sepulcher but allowed the other claims to proceed.

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    35 views2 pages

    Nature of The Case:: Melfi V Mount Sinai Hosp

    Uploaded by

    Liam
    Leonard Melfi suffered congestive heart failure and was brought to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he did not receive treatment and later died. His body was then sent to a community college for embalming practice and buried in a mass grave, and his family was not notified of his death for over two months. Leonard's brother John Melfi sued Mount Sinai Hospital for medical malpractice, wrongful death, loss of sepulcher, and fraudulent concealment. The court dismissed the punitive damages claim against Mount Sinai for loss of sepulcher but allowed the other claims to proceed.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Melfi v Mount Sinai Hosp.

    Nature of the Case:

    Leanard Melfi was a playwright who suffered a congestive heart failure, and after being brought
    to Mount Sinai Hospital didn’t receive any treatment.

    Facts:

    The plaintiff, John Melfi, brought action for, inter alia, loss of sepulcher after his brother’s body
    was sent to a community college for embalming practice and then for burial in a mass grave in
    Potters field. Mr. Melfi was brought by ambulance to Mt. Sinai hospital (defendant) after
    collapsing in his room at a welfare hotel in Manhattan. Identifying information found on Mr.
    Melfi included his address, date of birth, and social security number. The ambulance call report
    also listed his friend, Joann Tedesco, as his next of kin. Mt. Sinai Hospital has Mr. Melfi’s name
    but omitted any additional information including his address, and contact information. Despite
    claims from Dr. Burns the attending physician of making two calls, they were undocumented.
    Mr. Melfi died at the hospital, with his body remaining in the hospital for 30 days. Mr. Melfi’s
    body was then transferred to the city Morgue at Bellevue hospital. The was no record of any
    effort made to locate his next of kin while the body was at Bellevue. Mr. Melfi’s body was
    subsequently sent for embalming practice by students of Nassau community college’s Mortuary
    science department. Mr. Melfi was then buried in Potter’s field. Two months after his burial, his
    niece was contacted by the welfare hotel and told of his death. Joann Tedesco informed her
    father, the plaintiff, John Melfi. John Melfi ultimately learned that his brother was buried in
    Potter’s field, but more than 90 days after his brother’s death. Mr. Melfi filed a notice of claim
    against Bellevue for loss of sepulcher. Bellevue moved to dismiss on the grounds that the notice
    of claim was filed more than 90 days after Leonard Melfi’s death. The court held that because
    the injury arising out of a loss of sepulcher claim is emotional, it is axiomatic that plaintiff must
    be aware of the interference with the right to provide for a loved one’s burial. As such, the claim
    did not accrue until John Melfi realized that his brother’s body had been buried in a mass grave
    of unknown bodies. The HHC court held that the punitive damages claim against Mt. Sinai for
    the acts of the doctor in failing to make diligent attempts to locate the next of kin should be
    dismissed as he could not be considered someone with a “high level of general managerial
    authority” such that the hospital could be found to have “authorized, participated in, consented to
    or ratified his conduct.”

    Issues:
    Did Mount Sinai Hospital commit medical malpractice, cause of wrongful death, loss of
    sepulcher and fraudulent concealment?
    Decision:

    The order of the Supreme Court, New York County (Joan B. Carey, J.), entered May 5, 2008,
    which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, denied the motion by defendant HHC
    to dismiss the cause of action for loss of sepulcher and the motion by defendant Mount Sinai to
    strike plaintiff's demands for punitive damages related to the claims of malpractice and loss of
    sepulcher, and granted plaintiff's motion to amend the complaint to plead a cause of action for
    gross negligence and related punitive damages against Mount Sinai in connection with the
    malpractice claim, should be modified, on the law, Mount Sinai's motion to strike plaintiff's
    demand for punitive damages in connection with the loss of sepulcher claim granted, and
    otherwise affirmed, without costs.

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