Shannan Gilbert, who reportedly worked as an escort, disappeared in the early morning hours of May 1, 2010 after being present at a party in the home of one of Dr. Hackett's neighbors in a gated community in Oak Beach on Jones Beach Island in Suffolk County. The plaintiffs claim that Shannan's belongings were found approximately thirty yards behind Dr. Hackett's house, a half mile from where Shannan's badly decomposed body was found, in the heavily thicketed marsh that lies between Oak Beach and Ocean Parkway, in December of 2011. The wide and protracted search for Shannan Gilbert resulted in the discovery of the remains of at least ten other individuals in the line of marsh and brush that adjoins Gilgo Beach.
Although the action against Dr. Hackett as first brought included causes of action for wrongful death and intentional tort, those claims were dismissed, in a decision and order dated December 10, 2013 (Martin, J.), for having been brought beyond the applicable statutes of limitations. Thereafter, in a decision and order dated December 17, 2017, the court denied Dr. Hackett's subsequent motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' remaining claims, which are primarily "survival" claims alleging medical malpractice, negligence, gross negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent inducement.
The gravamen of all of those claims, as well as those previously dismissed as time barred, is the allegation that prior to her disappearance in the early morning hours of May 1, 2010, Shannan Gilbert came under the control and care of the defendant, a Doctor of Osteopathy licensed to practice medicine in the State of New York.
Plaintiffs claim that Dr. Hackett led Shannan - and later, her mother, Mari Gilbert - to believe that he owned and operated a home for "wayward females" out of his Oak Beach house and that he would render "aid" to her there, including medical treatment; that Shannan in fact came under Dr. Hackett's care and control and was administered medication by him; that Shannan was in such a state of confusion and "mental derangement" at that time that she "was incapable of making any informed decisions and of understanding her own or her surrounding circumstances"; and that Dr. Hackett's treatment of Shannan not only was "coerced," but was rendered "negligently, grossly negligently, recklessly and willfully and in reckless disregard of Shannan Gilbert's life and safety."
Plaintiffs further claim that in addition to the obligations stemming from the physician-patient relationship that they allege existed between Dr. Hackett and Shannan Gilbert, or which were imposed upon him by virtue of the control he exercised over her and the representations he made to her and to her mother, Dr. Hackett also had "a duty of care to protect Shannan Gilbert and keep her safe from harm and to call the police and/or 9-1-1 to protect Shannan Gilbert, which [Dr.] Hackett failed and refused to do."
Plaintiffs claim that as a result of Dr. Hackett's alleged misrepresentations, tortious acts and breaches of trust and duties, Shannan Gilbert "experienced pain, suffering, anguish, agony, knowledge and fear of her imminent death, and her death." In their general allegations (as well as in the specific context of two of their subsequently dismissed causes of action), and perhaps at least partly in anticipation of potential gaps in their proof, plaintiffs also allege that Dr. Hackett "engaged in conduct to conceal and thwart discovery" of his alleged treatment of Shannan Gilbert, including attempting to "thwart" discovery of her body, which, they, claim "frustrated, delayed and blocked" the "determination of her cause of death." Dr. Hackett has denied all of the material allegations of the complaint.
Estate of Gilbert v Hackett - 2018 NY Slip Op 28349
law.justia.com
