Opinion
November 9, 1987
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Levitt, J.).
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the defendant's motion is granted, and the action is dismissed.
The plaintiffs were required to provide an affidavit of merit by a person competent to attest to the meritorious nature of the claim. In a medical malpractice action, expert medical opinion evidence is required to demonstrate merit (see, Fiore v. Galang, 105 A.D.2d 970, affd 64 N.Y.2d 999; Amodeo v. Radler, 89 A.D.2d 594, affd 59 N.Y.2d 1001; Saeed v. Boulevard Hosp., 109 A.D.2d 831). While the plaintiffs did provide an affidavit by a physician, the affidavit did not indicate, in any way, that the defendant departed from accepted medical standards or that any such departure was a proximate cause of any injuries to the injured plaintiff. Absent even the bland statement of opinion by a medical expert that the treatment rendered had been below acceptable standards and caused the plaintiff's injuries required by the Court of Appeals in Canter v. Mulnick ( 60 N.Y.2d 689, 690), the affidavit was inadequate to demonstrate the meritorious nature of the plaintiffs' claims (see, Amsler v. Verrilli, 119 A.D.2d 786). The defendant's motion to dismiss the action pursuant to CPLR 3012 should, therefore, be granted. Niehoff, J.P., Eiber, Kunzeman and Harwood, JJ., concur.