Key Takeaway
Court ruling shows hospitals must prove their records qualify as business records for summary judgment in no-fault cases, adding procedural hurdle.
Hospital Records Must Meet Business Record Standards for Court Admission
When hospitals seek summary judgment in no-fault insurance disputes, they cannot simply assume their medical records will be automatically admitted as evidence. A recent Appellate Term decision demonstrates that even healthcare institutions must satisfy strict procedural requirements to establish that their documentation qualifies as admissible business records under New York’s evidence rules.
This ruling has significant implications for how medical providers pursue payment from insurance companies in no-fault cases. The court’s emphasis on proper foundation requirements shows that even routine hospital forms require careful authentication before they can support a motion for summary judgment.
Jason Tenenbaum’s Analysis:
Westchester Med. Ctr. v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 2012 NY Slip Op 50398(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2012)
“In the case at bar, plaintiff’s submission of a third-party affidavit failed to demonstrate that the NF-5 hospital facility form or the UB04, which was incorporated by reference into the NF-5 and which listed the services provided by the hospital, was plaintiff’s business record and therefore admissible as proof that, for example, those services had been rendered (see Matter of Carothers, 79 AD3d 864; New York Hosp. Med. Ctr. of Queens, 33 Misc 3d 130, 2011 NY Slip Op 51863).”
What is amazing here is that a hospital that gets its case 325(d)‘d from Supreme Court now has to make an additional threshold showing in order for its motion for summary judgment to be granted.
Key Takeaway
This decision creates an additional procedural hurdle for hospitals pursuing no-fault claims. Medical providers can no longer rely on third-party affidavits alone to establish that their billing forms and treatment records qualify as business records. Instead, they must provide proper foundation testimony demonstrating how these documents were created and maintained as part of their regular business operations.
