On June 4, 2025, the Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld the dismissal of all claims against a New York City hospital stemming from a patient’s treatment for COVID-19 in April 2020.  Plaintiff alleged that the hospital was negligent in failing to prevent and properly treat decubitus ulcers that developed during the patient’s hospitalization for COVID-19.  The entirety of the patient’s hospitalization was devoted to the treatment of hypoxic respiratory failure and pneumonia stemming from her COVID-19 infection.  In briefing and at oral argument, Ms. Lawless explained to the Court how the surge of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital, the hospital’s implementation of infection control protocols, and the treatment of the patient’s COVID-19 infection all impacted the development of the subject pressure ulcers.  The Court applied New York’s COVID-19 immunity statute—the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act (EDTPA)—and affirmed the dismissal of the complaint.

 This marks the first appellate court decision in New York to apply the EDTPA in pressure injury cases linked to COVID-19 treatment, setting a significant legal precedent.