Univ. of Miss. Med. Ctr. v. McGee


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Docket Number: 2007-IA-00909-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2007-IA-00909-SCT
Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 12-11-2008
Opinion Author: Smith, C.J.
Holding: AFFIRMED IN PART AND REMANDED; REVERSED IN PART AND RENDERED
Additional Case Information: Topic: Medical malpractice - Tort Claims Act - Statute of limitations - Section 11-46-11(3) - Wrongful death - Notice of claim
Judge(s) Concurring: Waller and Diaz, P.JJ., Easley, Carlson, Dickinson, Randolph and Lamar, JJ.
Concurs in Result Only: Graves, J.
Procedural History: Summary Judgment
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 05-24-2007
Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court
Judge: Tomie Green
Disposition: The trial court denied summary judgment for UMMC.
Case Number: 251-06-222CIV
  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: University of Mississippi Medical Center




 Leray McNamara; Stephanie C. Edgar



  
  • Appellant #1 Brief
  • Appellant #1 Reply Brief
    		•
    Appellee: Latisha McGee, Individually, and on behalf of the heirs of Laura Williams Katrina M. Gibbs  
    Synopsis provided by:

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    Topic: Medical malpractice - Tort Claims Act - Statute of limitations - Section 11-46-11(3) - Wrongful death - Notice of claim
    Summary of the Facts: The decedent, Laura Williams, underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy at University of Mississippi Medical Center. During this surgery, UMMC physicians also removed a cancerous abdominal mass and a cancerous intestinal mass from Williams, who had been previously diagnosed with small-bowel cancer. Six days later, Williams presented to the UMMC emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and a decreased appetite. Upon examination, it was discovered that a laparotomy sponge had been left inadvertently in Williams’s abdomen during her September 1, 2004, operation at UMMC. Thus, the decedent had one year to seek redress from UMCC for this mistake. With Williams’s consent, UMMC physicians performed an exploratory laparotomy on September 8, 2004, during which they removed the laparotomy sponge. In October of 2004, Williams visited Central Mississippi Medical Center, where she was told that the cancer had spread throughout her body. Williams died of metastatic adenocarcinoma and anoxic brain injury on December 19, 2004. Latisha McGee, Williams’s daughter, sent a notice-of-claim letter to UMMC on November 21, 2005, which UMMC received on November 28, 2005. McGee filed suit against UMMC on February 21, 2006. UMMC filed a motion for summary judgment contending that the statute of limitations had run on Williams’s res ipsa loquitur claim and the medical-negligence claims arising before November 28, 2004. The court denied the motion. The Supreme Court granted UMMC’s petition for interlocutory appeal.
    Summary of Opinion Analysis: UMMC argues that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment in that it failed to apply the proper law with regard to the statute of limitations. In a suit under the wrongful-death statute, there may be several different kinds of claims, and each kind of claim is subject to its own statute of limitations. The limitation period begins to run on the earliest date all of the elements of a tort are present. The discovery rule applies to claims brought pursuant to the Tort Claims Act. The Act’s one-year statute of limitations begins to run when the claimant knows, or by exercise of reasonable diligence should know, of both the damage or injury, and the act or omission which proximately caused it. The statute of limitations for claims Williams could have brought began to run on September 7, 2004, and expired one year later. The statute of limitations for McGee’s claim, however, did not begin to run until, at the earliest, December 19, 2004, the date of death, and the date McGee’s damages accrued. The notice-of-claim letter was received on November 28, 2005, within the one-year statute of limitations. For a wrongful-death claim brought under the Act, the tort is not complete until the final element of the tort manifests and the cause of action is known. At the earliest, this is the date of death. McGee, through her attorney, sent a notice-of-claim letter to UMMC on November 21, 2005. The notice of claim was received by UMMC on November 28, 2005. Pursuant to section 11-46-11(3), the statute of limitations is tolled for ninety-five days from the date the chief executive of the state agency receives the notice of the claim. Therefore, the statute of limitations for the wrongful-death claims was tolled on November 28, 2005, and did not expire until March 3, 2006. The plaintiff’s survival claim occurred more than one year prior to providing notice; thus, that claim is barred by the statute of limitations. The wrongful-death claim is not barred.


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