Ravo v. Rogatnick
Court of Appeals of New York
514 N.E.2d 1104 (1987)
Josephine Ravo (plaintiff) suffered permanent brain damage at birth and sued both her delivering obstetrician, Sol Rogatnick, and her treating pediatrician, Irwin Harris (defendants), for malpractice; evidence showed each doctor contributed to her injuries through separate negligent acts, but no evidence could isolate which specific portion of her overall injury resulted from Rogatnick's negligence versus Harris's. The jury awarded Ravo $2,750,000, finding Rogatnick committed eight acts of malpractice (80% responsible) and Harris three acts (20% responsible); Harris moved to limit his liability to 20% of the total award, the trial court denied the motion and the Appellate Division affirmed, and Harris appealed.
Whether joint and several liability may be imposed where multiple tortfeasors, not acting concurrently or in concert, substantially contribute to causing an indivisible injury and there is no evidence identifying which part of the injury each tortfeasor caused.