Kirpas v. Griffin Hospital

── Kirpas v. Griffin Hospital ── Court: Connecticut Appellate Court Date: June 09, 2026 Author: Clark Category: General ************************************************ The “officially released” date that appears near the beginning of an opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it is released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for the filing of postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the “officially released” date appearing in the opinion. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecti- cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the advance release version of an opinion and the version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying an opinion that appear in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ************************************************  Kirpas v. Griffin Hospital REBECCA KIRPAS v. THE GRIFFIN HOSPITAL ET AL. (AC 47842) Clark, Wilson and Palmer Js. Syllabus The plaintiff appealed from the trial court’s judgment for the defendant hospital in this medical malpractice action, in which she alleged that the defendant physicians, S and F, as agents of the hospital, were negligent in failing to properly diagnose her and the hospital was vicariously liable for their negligence. The plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the trial court, con- cluding that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to the existence of an agency relationship between the hospital and S and F, improperly granted the hospital’s motion for summary judgment on her vicarious liability claim. Held: This court determined that the plaintiff’s appeal was moot, as the plaintiff released S and F from any liability for the conduct that formed the basis of her negligence claim against them after the filing of this appeal, and those releases operated as a matter of law to release the hospital from any claim of vicarious liability for that same conduct, and, thus, there was no practical relief that could be afforded to the plaintiff; accordingly, the appeal was dismissed. Argued February 3—officially released June 9, 2026 Procedural History Action to recover damages for, inter alia, medical malpractice, and for other relief, brought to the Supe- rior Court in the judicial district of Ansonia-Milford at Milford, where the court, J. Welch, J., granted the named defendant’s motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment thereon, from which the plaintiff appealed to this court. Appeal dismissed. Kenneth A. Votre, for the appellant (plaintiff). Michael G. Rigg, with whom, on the brief, was Adam Maiocco, for the appellee (named defendant). Opinion CLARK, J. In this medical malpractice action, the plaintiff, Rebecca Kirpas, appeals from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the named  Kirpas v. Griffin Hospital defendant, The Griffin Hospital (Griffin Hospital),1 with respect to her direct negligence and vicarious liability claims. In her complaint, the plaintiff alleged two counts against the defendant: (1) the defendant was vicariously liable for the alleged negligence of two physicians, Joseph Felice and Krithika Srinivasan (physicians or Felice and Srinivasan); and (2) the defendant