Barksdale v. Carroll

944 So. 2d 107, 2006 WL 2474289
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 29, 2006
Docket2004-CA-01859-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 944 So. 2d 107 (Barksdale v. Carroll) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barksdale v. Carroll, 944 So. 2d 107, 2006 WL 2474289 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

944 So.2d 107 (2006)

James A. BARKSDALE, Individually and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Lisa Renee Barksdale, Deceased, Appellant,
v.
David CARROLL, M.D., Appellee.

No. 2004-CA-01859-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 29, 2006.
Certiorari Denied December 7, 2006.

*109 Alben N. Hopkins, Gulfport, attorney for appellant.

R. Mark Hodges, Jackson, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. The appellant's motion for rehearing is denied. The original opinion issued in this case is withdrawn, and the following opinion is substituted therefor.

¶ 2. On February 26, 2000, Lisa Renee Barksdale was involved in an automobile accident and was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). Lisa Barksdale received treatment and was admitted for observation. On February 27, 2000, she died. Lisa Barksdale's husband, James A. Barksdale, brought suit individually and on behalf of the wrongful death beneficiaries against UMMC and numerous physicians. Barksdale settled with UMMC under the Mississippi Torts Claims Act (MTCA).

¶ 3. This action arises out of a second amended complaint against Dr. David Carroll which alleged causes of action for malpractice, negligence and medical negligence, res ipsa loquitur, and failure to obtain informed consent. Dr. Carroll filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that he was an employee of the state and, therefore, should be immune from liability under the MTCA. On July 16, 2004, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Dr. Carroll. Barksdale appeals.

¶ 4. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 5. In 1998, Dr. Carroll and his wife, Dr. Gina Heath, relocated to Mississippi and formed their own private practice, Surgical Specialists of Jackson. In the course of Dr. Carroll's relocation, the Department of Surgery at UMMC asked him to serve as an attending faculty member. Soon thereafter, UMMC replaced the person serving as chairman of the Department of Surgery. Consequently, the administration asked Dr. Carroll if he would temporarily serve in his faculty role without compensation until the new chairman established policies and procedures for the faculty members. Dr. Carroll agreed to temporarily serve without compensation because he received income from his separate private practice outside of UMMC.

¶ 6. On January 19, 1999, UMMC appointed Dr. Carroll effective February 18, 1999, as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery. The position was non-salaried. On May 10, 1999, the Board approved Dr. Carroll's appointment as a non-salaried faculty member with the title of Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery and Attending Physician. On February 10, 2000, UMMC appointed Dr. Carroll effective March 31, 2000, as a Clinical Assistant *110 Professor of Surgery and Attending Physician. This was a part-time salaried position. When Dr. Carroll became a salaried faculty member, he became a member of the departmental practice plan. Prior to that time, Dr. Carroll was not a member of the departmental practice plan.

¶ 7. Although Dr. Carroll's title changed during his time as a non-salaried faculty member, he maintained the same faculty member duties. Dr. Carroll's role as a faculty member involved occasional lectures to the residents as well as faculty consultation. The duty of faculty consultation required Dr. Carroll occasionally to be on call to consult with the residents on duty who provided care to the patients of UMMC. During the time that Dr. Carroll was on call, he acted as an attending physician and could not be on call at any other hospital. Every patient at UMMC is assigned an attending physician if the patient is seen by the Department of Surgery. The attending physician must be a member of the faculty at UMMC. Dr. Carroll did not bill patients or receive any compensation for faculty consultation. Thus, on February 26, 2000, Dr. Carroll both had a private practice and served as an uncompensated faculty member at UMMC with the title of Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery and Attending Physician. He was not a member of a departmental practice plan.

¶ 8. On the evening of February 26, 2000, Dr. Carroll was on call as the attending physician of the Surgical Residency Program. Dr. Saied Habibipour, a senior surgical resident and a licensed medical doctor, was informed that Lisa Barksdale was en route to UMMC for injuries she had sustained in an automobile accident. Dr. Habibipour phoned Dr. Carroll at his home and told Dr. Carroll that a potentially critical patient was en route to the hospital. As Dr. Carroll was preparing to leave for the hospital, Dr. Habibipour called him again to communicate that he did not need to come to the hospital. Dr. Habibipour informed Dr. Carroll that the patient was stable and that further tests were being performed. Dr. Carroll concurred with Dr. Habibipour's diagnosis. Dr. Habibipour called Dr. Carroll later that evening to discuss the test results. The results showed no internal injuries or other abnormalities. Dr. Carroll concurred with Dr. Habibipour's plan to admit Lisa Barksdale for a twenty-three hour observation period. Dr. Carroll did not hear any further information until the next day, when he was no longer on call. Another resident called Dr. Carroll and informed him that Lisa Barksdale had died as a result of lacerations of the liver and of the mesentery and hemoperitoneum.

¶ 9. Dr. Carroll never went to the hospital to treat Lisa Barksdale. He did not personally review her medical chart or any of her medical tests. Dr. Carroll did not bill Lisa Barksdale for any services because he never personally treated her. Had Dr. Carroll performed services for Lisa Barksdale, he would have billed through his office and not through the departmental practice plan.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 10. "A grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo." Conley v. Warren, 797 So.2d 881, 882 (Miss.2001). There must exist no genuine issues of material fact, and the moving party must be entitled to judgment as a matter of law. M.R.C.P. 56(c). The party requesting summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine issue of material fact. Short v. Columbus Rubber & Gasket Co., 535 So.2d 61, 63-64 (Miss. 1988). The trial court's grant of summary judgment will be reversed if any genuine triable issues of fact exist. Brown v. Credit *111 Ctr., Inc., 444 So.2d 358, 362 (Miss.1983). Otherwise, the decision will be affirmed. Id.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT WHEN IT FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO GENUINE ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT AS TO THE EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF DR. DAVID CARROLL.

¶ 11. The MTCA "provides the exclusive civil remedy against a governmental entity or its employee for acts or omissions which give rise to a suit." L.W. v. McComb Separate Mun. Sch. Dist., 754 So.2d 1136, 1138(¶ 11) (Miss.1999); Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-7(1) (Rev.2002). "Any tort claim filed against a government entity or its employee shall be brought only under the MTCA." Id. "The MTCA waives sovereign immunity from claims for money damages arising out of the torts of governmental entities and their employees." Id. Additionally, "no employee shall be held personally liable for acts or omissions occurring within the course and scope of the employee's duties." Miss.Code Ann.

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Bluebook (online)
944 So. 2d 107, 2006 WL 2474289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barksdale-v-carroll-missctapp-2006.