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Inquest on Damages

BY Katherine W. Dandy
February 25, 2010

Consider the following scenario: A defendant doctor in a medical malpractice case has failed to comply with his discovery obligations. As a result, his answer is stricken and the case proceeds to an inquest on the issue of damages. During the inquest, the defendant attempts to introduce evidence that the plaintiff's injuries were not caused by the doctor's negligence, but by another factor, in whole or in part; namely, the plaintiff's pre-existing medical condition. Plaintiff objects, claiming that the issue of causation was determined by the default. How should the court rule? Should the defendant be permitted to present such evidence, or is he deemed to have admitted, by virtue of his stricken answer, that his negligence was the sole cause of plaintiff's injuries?

New York Law

We will look at this scenario through the lens of New York law, and later look at how other states handle the matter. While one New York court has held that a defaulting defendant cannot introduce such evidence, case law in New York and in other states supports a conclusion that there are situations where causation evidence is properly considered at an inquest on damages following a default. Because the issue of damages is so intertwined with the issue of causation in a medical malpractice action, and because such actions are unique in that a defendant doctor can be negligent without being the cause of any injury, the authors submit that a defaulting defendant should be permitted to introduce evidence on the issue of whether the claimed injury resulted from the alleged malpractice, or from another factor or factors, in whole or in part.

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