Charles E. Kutner

Mr. Kutner is an AV-Rated Preeminent Medical Malpractice Defense Attorney in practice for over 35 years. He has taken more than 150 verdicts including defense verdicts in cases involving neurologically injured newborns, wrongful death and stroke. Mr. Kutner has represented hospitals, emergency room physicians, physician assistants, nurse midwives and physicians in all specialties of medicine. He was one of the defense counsel in the well known case of Rosenberg v York Endoscopy et al involving the death of comedian Joan Rivers, and Broadnax v Gonzales that established the right of a mother to recover for emotional distress for a stillbirth caused by medical negligence.

In addition to his accomplishments as a trial attorney, Mr. Kutner has been involved in appeals that have established significant case law (Stewart vs Cohen 82 AD3d 874 [2011]) (no continuous treatment despite ongoing doctor-patient relationship; (Ortiz v Kapit 30 AD3D 215 [2006]) (no continuous treatment by radiologist despite performing yearly mammograms); Heller v Weinberg 77 AD3d 622 [2010]) (plaintiff in wrongful death case unable to establish defendant was aware of decedent's complaints without violating hearsay rule).

Mr. Kutner is a frequent lecturer, most recently for the New York State Bar Association, May 2018, on handling breast cancer cases. He has also lectured for the NYSBA on handling medical malpractice cases and for Loriman Education Services on handling depositions. He is an annual speaker at the St. John's University School of Law Seminar on Medical Malpractice. Mr. Kutner has also lectured on medical malpractice trials and expert disclosure at the Annual Summer Judicial Seminar Series for members of the New York State Judiciary (Summer 2017).

Publications: In addition to the published materials used in the NYSBA lecture series Mr. Kutner is the author of Frye Hearings, a review of case law utility and application. Journal of the Defense Association of New York, Spring 2015.

Recent Verdicts: Morris v Swamy, Supreme Court New York County (defense verdict failure to transfer patient to tertiary care facility for impending stroke); Armano v Coudrey Supreme Court Suffolk County (defense verdict wrongful death as a result of negligent treatment for ventricular tachycardia); Ginocchio v Sohal Supreme Court, Queens County (defense verdict negligent performance of trigger point injection resulting in CSF leak); Dainele v NAPPM Supreme Court Nassau County (defense verdict; failure to diagnose spinal abscess leading to Cauda Equina Syndrome); Kurz v Fernandez Supreme Court Nassau County (defense verdict - blindness following administration of Amiodarone for post-op a-fib); David v Gordon Supreme Court Kings County (defense verdict - mishandling delivery resulting in hysterectomy); Castillo v Zargaroff (defense verdict - neurologically injured; delay in performing c-section) Kanopka v Suffolk Dialysis Supreme Court Suffolk County (defense verdict - third degree chemical burn following treatment with hydrochloric acid for metabolic alkalosis.) Baxter v Stark (defense verdict - misdiagnosis of appendiceal cancer resulting in hemicolectomy following colonoscopy). Dixon v Kurstein, Supreme Queens County (defense verdict - wrongful death - failure to diagnose lung cancer). Raimondi v Washburn, Supreme Court Nassau County (defense verdict - failure of emergency room physician to diagnose stroke).