On July 5, 2017 the Appellate Division covering appeals in Brooklyn ruled in favor of a family who filed a wrongful death medical malpractice suit against Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. They wanted to assert new theories of liability against the hospital and the lower court Judge refused to allow an amendment to the family's complaint. The patient involved died after lengthy treatment for decubitus ulcers (bed sores) that were infected. During at least part of the time, a surgeon named Dr Chendrasekhar (Dr. C) treated the patient.

Once sued the hospital filed its own suit against Dr. C essentially claiming that if they are held responsible to pay any damages to the patient's family, they want Dr. C to pay them back because any malpractice was his fault. The hospital's suit against the surgeon caused the patient's family to learn that Dr. C had "disciplinary proceedings against him in five different states, and his medical malpractice history, which included six medical malpractice actions" pending against him in Brooklyn.

The appellate court's ruling now permits the family to claim that the hospital was negligent in hiring, retaining and supervising Dr. C and let a jury decide the issue. Gomez v Buena Vida, 2017 WL 2855893