Whole-body MRI provider Prenuvo loses bid to limit damages in high-profile malpractice casehttps://radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-management/legal-news/whole-body-mri-provider-prenuvo-loses-bid-limit-damages-high-profile-malpractice-case Content extracted from https://radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-management/legal-news/whole-body-mri-provider-prenuvo-loses-bid-limit-damages-high-profile-malpractice-case https://radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-management/legal-news/whole-body-mri-provider-prenuvo-loses-bid-limit-damages-high-profile-malpractice-caseWhole-body MRI provider Prenuvo loses bid to limit damages in high-profile malpractice case https://radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-management/legal-news/whole-body-mri-provider-prenuvo-loses-bid-limit-damages-high-profile-malpractice-case
Whole-body MRI provider Prenuvo has lost its bid to limit damages in a high-profile malpractice case over one of its pricey elective scans.
Sean Clifford and his legal representatives filed the lawsuit Sept. 24, 2024, in the New York State Supreme Court. They contend a radiologist failed to spot signs of a forthcoming stroke after the then-37-year-old underwent a $2,500 whole-body MRI at a New York City Prenuvo location.
The Redwood City, California-based company had sought to compel arbitration in the case, rather than letting a court decide the outcome. When that failed, it also attempted to have California laws apply in the New York-based case, since the Golden State has a cap on malpractice damages.
However, a judge rejected this request Friday, quashing attempts to shield Prenuvo and its radiologist, William A. Weiner, DO.
“I am pleased that the court sided with us. This ruling reaffirms the strength and merits of our medical malpractice and negligence claims, and we look forward to continuing to litigate this matter in New York County Supreme Court,” attorney Neal Bhushan, with Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm in NYC, told Radiology Business by email Dec. 22.
Prenuvo declined to comment on the case Monday, citing company policy not to speak on pending litigation. In court filings, the radiology group has denied the allegations, only admitting Clifford underwent a whole-body MRI scan at Prenuvo on or about July 15, 2023.
The New York Supreme Court held that Prenuvo’s contract that contains a California-law clause applies only to the breach of contract claim against one of its related entities. It cannot be used to protect Prenuvo and Weiner from medical malpractice and negligence claims, Bhushan said. Thus, California laws also still apply to the lawsuit’s other claims relating to lack of informed consent, negligent hiring or supervision, and product liability.
NY Supreme Court Judge John J. Kelley and colleagues also ruled that Weiner is impacted by the original consent agreement signed between Prenuvo and the patient. This despite him being a third-party provider, hired by the physician group.
“The court concludes that the agreement was expressly made not only for the benefit of Prenuvo of California, P.C., but its employees as well,” the Dec. 19 decision states. “Nonetheless, even though Weiner is covered by the agreement, the choice-of-law provision [allowing California rules to apply here] does not apply to him, since the breach of contract claim was not asserted against him, and all of the causes of action that were asserted against him were noncontractual … to which the choice-of-law provision is inapplicable.”
Co-founded by radiologist Raj Attariwala, MD, PhD, in 2018, Prenuvo recently raised over $120 million in a Series B financing round, with previous support coming from model Cindy Crawford, Nest founder Tony Fadell, 23&Me CEO Anne Wojcicki, and billionaire scientist Timothy A. Springer, PhD. It also has scored celebrity endorsements from Kim Kardashian and others and has pursued expansion amid growing interest. It currently has 26 locations—including one in London, its first in the EU—with another 14 labeled as coming soon. Prenuvo’s affiliated imaging group partners consist of over 100 radiologists interpreting the elective scans.
Inspired by the company, others also have entered the elective whole-body MRI space in recent years. These include SimonMed Imaging and Rayus Radiology, with the malpractice case’s results presenting implications for this burgeoning business model.
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