NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-1794-15T3 ASIA O'BRIEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MOUNTAINSIDE HOSPITAL, Defendant-Respondent, and DR. PENG, DR. R. DE MARSICO, R. SCHEPIS, R.N., J. BENECH, R.N., E. TOPOLENSKI, R.N., E. DARISH, R.N., B. ROSS, C. BROWN, and V. YIRKA, Defendants. _________________________________ Argued March 16, 2017 – Decided October 16, 2017 Before Judges Espinosa and Suter. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, Docket No. L-0594-13. Brian M. Dratch argued the cause for appellant (Franzblau Dratch, attorneys; Mr. Dratch on the briefs). Anthony Cocca argued the cause for respondent (Bubb, Grogan & Cocca, LLP, attorneys; Mr. Cocca, of counsel and on the brief). The opinion of the court was delivered by SUTER, J.A.D. Plaintiff Asia O'Brien appeals the November 10, 2015 summary judgment order that dismissed with prejudice her litigation against defendant Mountainside Hospital (Mountainside) and the December 18, 2015 order that denied reconsideration. We affirm both orders. The trial judge did not abuse her discretion in denying plaintiff's second request for an adjournment of the summary judgment motion, in granting that motion, which was unopposed, in denying recusal when there was no evidence of bias and in denying reconsideration. In January 2013, plaintiff filed a medical malpractice complaint against Mountainside, seeking damages because of a scar on her face that she alleges occurred from a scratch sustained in the hospital when she was a newborn. Mountainside filed for summary judgment after discovery closed in January 2015. The motion was denied without prejudice by the trial judge because the presiding judge extended discovery until the end of July, entering a scheduling order that required plaintiff to serve expert reports by the end of April 2015. Plaintiff missed that deadline. 2 A-1794-15T3 Plaintiff's expert report was served in June 2015. The one page report by Dr. Carl DeFronzo (DeFronzo report), a Board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, stated that hospital records confirmed the presence of a "small scratch on [plaintiff's] right cheek." Because there was no notation about treatment, he opined "the incident was not handled properly and was a breach of standard of care." "[A]n incident report should have been filed immediately," and a "nurse supervisor should have been notified." A doctor should have "discussed the appropriate course of action," and "[t]he proper follow up procedure should have included wound care instructions for the parents as well as a follow up visit with the physician for evaluation." Subsequently, the trial judge denied without prejudice two motions by Mountainside to dismiss the complaint, extended discovery for thirty days to permit plaintiff to depose a nurse, and prohibited plaintiff from serving additional expert reports. The trial judge denied plaintiff's request that she recuse herself. ...
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