ALBANY – A divided Court of Appeals refused Tuesday to recognize a New York cause of action that would force Philip Morris to pay for perpetual medical tests for current and former smokers to detect the first signs of cancer.
The majority in the 4-2 decision conceded that there were “significant policy reasons” for recognizing a medical monitoring cause of action. But it said that taking such an action could flood the courts with the claims of tens of millions of smokers worried about the health effects of their tobacco use.
