May 6, 2013

Sky Med. Supply, Inc. v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2013 NY Slip Op 50764(U))

https://www.beynensonlaw.com/case-law/sky-med-supply-inc-v-geico-gen-ins-co-2013-ny-slip-op50764u/

Court: Appellate Term, Second Department
Decided: May 6, 2013
Citation: 2013 NY Slip Op 50764(U) · 39 Misc 3d 142(A)
Posture: Summary judgment
Outcome: Insurer prevailed
Issues: Medical necessity
Legal questions: Lack of medical necessity (see the maps)

Cite as

Sky Med. Supply, Inc. v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co., 39 Misc 3d 142(A), 2013 NY Slip Op 50764(U) (App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2013)

Posture, outcome, issues and treatment by other decisions are Beynenson Law’s classification. Treatment labels are assigned by a language model reading the citing decision; negative and appeal-history labels are checked by a second reader.

Summary

Editorial summary by Beynenson Law, not part of the court’s decision.

The insurer's unrebutted peer review established that the disputed supply was not medically necessary and warranted dismissal. The Civil Court denied the insurer's summary judgment cross motion while finding a timely and proper medical-necessity denial and identifying medical necessity as the sole trial issue. The insurer's affirmed peer review supplied a factual basis and medical rationale for its conclusion, and the provider did not rebut it. The provider also did not challenge the finding that the insurer was otherwise entitled to judgment. The Appellate Term, Second Department, reversed the order, insofar as appealed from, and granted the insurer's cross motion dismissing the complaint.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Sky Med. Supply, Inc. v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2013 NY Slip Op 50764(U))

[*1]

Sky Med. Supply, Inc. v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co.

2013 NY Slip Op 50764(U) [39 Misc 3d 142(A)]

Decided on May 6, 2013

Appellate Term, Second Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on May 6, 2013

SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, SECOND DEPARTMENT, 2d, 11th and 13th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS

PRESENT: : PESCE, P.J., RIOS and SOLOMON, JJ
2011-2324 K C.

Sky Medical Supply, Inc. as Assignee of WOODY LaFORTUNE, Respondent, —
against
Geico General Ins. Co., Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Katherine A. Levine, J.), entered May 16, 2011. The order, insofar as appealed from, denied defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed, with $30 costs, and defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint is granted.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff moved for summary judgment and defendant cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Insofar as is relevant to this appeal, the Civil Court denied defendant’s cross motion and found that defendant had established a timely and proper denial of the claim at issue on the ground of lack of medical necessity and that the sole remaining issue for trial was medical necessity.

In support of its cross motion, defendant submitted an affirmed peer review report which set forth a factual basis and medical rationale for the reviewer’s determination that there was a lack of medical necessity for the supply at issue. Defendant’s showing that the supply at issue was not medically necessary was not rebutted by plaintiff. In view of the foregoing, and as plaintiff has not challenged the Civil Court’s finding, in effect, that defendant is otherwise [*2]entitled to judgment, the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed and defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint is granted (see Delta Diagnostic Radiology, P.C. v Integon Natl. Ins. Co., 24 Misc 3d 136[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 51502[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009]; Delta Diagnostic Radiology, P.C. v American Tr. Ins. Co., 18 Misc 3d 128[A], 2007 NY Slip Op 52455[U] [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2007]; A. Khodadadi Radiology, P.C. v NY Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 16 Misc 3d 131[A], 2007 NY Slip Op 51342[U] [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2007]).

Pesce, P.J., Rios and Solomon, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: May 06, 2013

Legal questions

A question of no-fault law this decision rules on, from our Legal Questions pages. Bars count the decisions on the question by year and court, coloured by category; circles are this decision and the decisions on the question it cites or that cite it. Point at a bar or circle for details. The categories and summaries are Beynenson Law’s classification, made by a language model and checked by a second reading.

Lack of medical necessity

Open the full map

Did the insurer’s proof establish lack of medical necessity, and did the provider’s evidence rebut it?

This decision: Insurer's proof established lack of medical necessity and the provider failed to rebut it

Granted the insurer summary judgment because its affirmed peer review report set forth a factual basis and medical rationale for lack of medical necessity of the supply and the provider did not rebut it.

Unrebutted, insurer prevailsProvider's rebuttal sufficientInsurer raised triable issueInsurer's proof insufficientTrial error, new trialThis decisionCites it or cited by itCited or followed

Of the 617 decisions on this question in the Second Department courts and the Court of Appeals, 315 (this one included) are in the same category.

Cited in this decision

A label shows how this decision treated the case it cites.

Delta Diagnostic Radiology, P.C. v Integon Natl. Ins. Co. (2009 NY Slip Op 51502(U)) FollowedThe insurer's examining physician supplied an unrebutted factual basis and medical rationale that the billed MRI was unnecessary.
Delta Diagnostic Radiology, P.C. v American Tr. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 52455(U)) FollowedThe insurer's unrebutted peer review established that the provider's MRIs lacked medical necessity.
A Khodadadi Radiology, P.C. v NY Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 51342(U)) FollowedThe insurer's unrebutted peer review established that the provider's MRIs lacked medical necessity.

Similar decisions

Sky Med. Supply, Inc. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co. (2012 NY Slip Op 50050(U))The insurer's chiropractor/acupuncturist's affidavit and peer review established lack of medical necessity, and the provider did not rebut them.
New Way Med. Supply Corp. v GEICO Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 50880(U))The insurer's peer reviews were unrebutted because appellate review was limited to the papers Civil Court considered.
Advanced Med. Diagnostics of Queens, P.C. v GEICO Ins. Co. (2013 NY Slip Op 52004(U))The insurer's unrebutted sworn peer review established that the services lacked medical necessity.
SI Med. & Surgical Supply, P.C. v American Tr. Ins. Co. (2012 NY Slip Op 50054(U))The insurer's peer reviews established lack of medical necessity for the supplies, and the provider did not rebut that showing.
Quality Health Prods. v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2012 NY Slip Op 50415(U))The insurer's unrebutted peer review report supplied a factual basis and medical rationale for denying the supplies as medically unnecessary.