Ostrowski v. Azzara

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

O’HERN, J.

This case primarily concerns the legal significance of a medical malpractice claimant’s pre-treatment health habits. Al though the parties agreed that such habits should not be regarded as evidencing comparative fault for the medical injury at issue, we find that the instructions to the jury failed to draw the line clearly between the normal mitigation of damages expected of any claimant and the concepts of comparative fault that can preclude recovery in a fault-based system of tort reparation. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment below that…