A state appeals court has allowed the wife of a man who suffered complications during heart surgery to access investigative findings from a state Department of Health review of the procedure that were previously withheld by the agency.

An Appellate Division, Third Department, panel modified a lower court ruling denying disclosure of the information sought by Julie Pasek through the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

Pasek requested information on the health department's investigation after her husband, James, suffered complications following his admission to Mercy Hospital of Buffalo for mitral valve repair surgery. James went into cardiac arrest and required emergency surgery that left him with impairments, according to the court's decision.