ALBANY– Finding the State liable for the pain and suffering of an elderly woman who underwent four months of unnecessary and debilitating treatment for tuberculosis, a Court of Claims judge held that the mislabeling of a specimen at a state health laboratory was the proximate cause of her injuries.
Judge James P. King of Albany rejected the State’s argument that the conduct of the woman’s personal physician was a superseding cause. The State claimed that the doctor ordered a powerful anti-tuberculosis drug regimen without making an effort on his own to confirm the diagnosis. However, the judge said the physician’s response to the state lab report was foreseeable.
