Williams v. Skelton


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Docket Number: 2007-CA-00095-COA
Linked Case(s): 2007-CA-00095-SCT ; 2007-CT-00095-SCT ; 2007-CA-00095-COA ; 2007-CT-00095-SCT
Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 04-22-2008
Opinion Author: MYERS, P.J.
Holding: Affirmed
Additional Case Information: Topic: Medical negligence - Notice requirements - Section 15-1-36(15)
Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., CHANDLER, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ.,
Non Participating Judge(s): GRIFFIS, J.
Dissenting Author : IRVING, J., without separate written opinion.
Procedural History: Summary Judgment
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH
Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 12-13-2006
Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court
Judge: W. Swan Yerger
Disposition: MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTED
Case Number: 251-05-734CIV
Note: See SCT Opinion affirming the COA's judgment: http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO54375.pdf
  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: ZEONIA WILLIAMS, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE WRONGFUL DEATH HEIRS OF ANTHONY WILLIAMS, DECEASED




 D. L. JONES



  
  • Appellant #1 Reply Brief
    		•
    Appellee: DEBORAH SKELTON, M.D. AND STEVEN J. PATTERSON, M.D. WHITMAN B. JOHNSON, III, LORRAINE WALTERS BOYKIN, REBECCA LEE WIGGS  
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    Topic: Medical negligence - Notice requirements - Section 15-1-36(15)
    Summary of the Facts: Anthony Williams died while undergoing treatment from Drs. Deborah Skelton and Steven Patterson. Drs. Skelton and Patterson were notified by letter that Zeonia Williams had retained counsel to pursue a wrongful death claim against persons involved in Anthony’s medical care. Less than sixty days later, a complaint was filed against Drs. Skelton and Patterson, alleging that medical negligence was the proximate cause of Anthony’s death. Drs. Skelton and Patterson moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiffs failed to comply with the sixty-day notice requirement found in section 15-1-36(15). The motion for summary judgment was granted and the complaint was dismissed. Williams appeals.
    Summary of Opinion Analysis: Williams argues that, although the complaint was filed prior to the expiration of the sixty-day period required by section 15-1-36(15), the defendants had actual notice of the claim against them for the requisite period of time because process was not served until after the sixty-day waiting period. Thus, she asserts substantial compliance with the statutory notice requirements. The Supreme Court has required strict compliance with the mandates of section 15-1-36 such that failure to satisfy the pre-suit notice requirement mandates dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint. The undisputed facts reveal that Williams’s notice of intent to sue was sent to the doctors on June 15, 2005. Suit was filed on July 22, 2005, only thirty-seven days after sending the notice of intent to sue. The premature filing of the suit was in violation of the mandates of section 15-1-36(15). Therefore, the lawsuit for medical negligence was properly dismissed.


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