Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A New York appellate court held that a jury properly determined that a laboratory’s negligence had caused a probationer’s injuries but that the jury’s damages verdict had deviated materially from what would be considered reasonable compensation for such injuries.

Here, a probationer was required to submit to periodic drug testing. Before his probation was to expire, he underwent a drug test, which was analyzed by Kroll Laboratory Specialists. Kroll reported to a county probation department that the test yielded a positive result for cannabinoids, which led to a violation of probation petition and an 11-week extension of probation. The probationer’s subsequent suit against Kroll Laboratory alleged the defendant had negligently issued a false-positive report. A jury awarded $535,000. The trial court denied the defense motion to set aside the jury verdict.

The appellate court found that a valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences supported the jury’s determination that the defendant had acted negligently and that this negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s injuries. Citing case law, however, the court determined that the verdict deviated materially from what would be considered reasonable compensation in light of the plaintiff’s injuries. Consequently, the court ordered either a new damages trial or the plaintiff’s stipulation to a reduction of the verdict to $100,000.

Citation: Landon v. Kroll Lab. Specialists, Inc., 218 A.D.3d 455 (N.Y. App. Div. 2023).