NY Court Rules Home Health Aide Did Not Owe Duty to Patient throughout Night

​A home health aide did not owe a continuous duty to care for their patient throughout the night and thus was not liable for a fall that occurred overnight, a New York appellate court has ruled. The ruling upheld summary judgment for the aide and home health agency.

The patient, who was 87 years old at the time, allegedly sustained injuries when she fell in her bedroom at approximately 2:30 a.m.; the defendant home health aide was asleep in another bedroom in the house provided by the family. The patient subsequently died, although the court did not specify the...