Bracey v. Sullivan

899 So. 2d 210, 2005 WL 89478
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 18, 2005
Docket2003-CA-01316-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 899 So. 2d 210 (Bracey v. Sullivan) 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
Bracey v. Sullivan, 899 So. 2d 210, 2005 WL 89478 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

899 So.2d 210 (2005)

Audrey BRACEY, Individually and as Representative of the Wrongful Death Heirs of Addie M. Palmer, Deceased, Appellant,
v.
David M. SULLIVAN, M.D., Appellee.

No. 2003-CA-01316-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 18, 2005.
Rehearing Denied April 12, 2005.

D.L. Jones, Jackson, attorney for appellant.

*211 Molly Mitchell Walker, Mildred M. Morris, Jackson, attorneys for appellee.

Before BRIDGES, P.J., MYERS and BARNES, JJ.

BRIDGES, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Upon the death of Addie Mae Palmer, Audrey Bracey, individually and as representative of Palmer's heirs, filed a wrongful death action in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, First Judicial District, which, in relevant part, averred medical malpractice by Dr. David M. Sullivan. After the statute of limitations expired, Bracey filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint for the purpose of asserting an additional cause of action against Dr. Sullivan, and Dr. Sullivan subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court denied Bracey's motion for leave to amend and granted summary judgment for Dr. Sullivan, so Bracey has appealed raising the following issues:

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN DENYING BRACEY'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AN AMENDED COMPLAINT?
II. DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN GRANTING DR. SULLIVAN'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT?

FACTS

¶ 2. On September 22, 1999, Addie Mae Palmer was admitted as an emergency patient to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, and presented to the hospital a significantly extensive medical history that included such conditions and ailments as hypertension, hypertensive cardiovascular disease with chronic idiopathic pericardial effusion requiring percardial window, a multinodular goiter with hypothyroidism, severe degenerative arthritis, hyperlipidemia, adrenal mass, cystocoele, diverticulosis, gout, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic anemia, chronic renal insufficiency, positive ANA, or connective diseases, and solid nodules in her left lung. The hospital discovered that the cause of the emergency was a ruptured anterior communicating aneurysm, which required a craniotomy and clipping of the aneurysm.

¶ 3. At that time, Palmer was being prescribed approximately twenty-five medications. Some of these medications, which were part of her regimen prior to being admitted for said aneurysm, were prescribed by Dr. David M. Sullivan, as an employee of St. Dominic Hospital. However, most of the medications she received after her admission were prescribed by consultants.

¶ 4. Soon after surgery on the aneurysm, Palmer developed hydrocephalus, which required an additional surgery. Afterwards, Palmer was taken to a transitional care unit (TCI) for rehabilitation. The following day, however, she developed acute angioedema, which required more medication and a transfer to intensive care, but just a few days later, she was able to return to TCI. Complications from the surgeries arose during the following ten days, though, so Palmer was readmitted to St. Dominic Hospital for surgery. She was subsequently prescribed several more medications after developing a VRE urinary tract infection and fever, while also experiencing chronic renal failure, undergoing an infectious disease consultation, and having epidermal breakdown of the incision.

¶ 5. Shortly thereafter, considering her continued medical problems and a large mass in her left lung, which was believed to be malignant, Palmer's family finally decided to transfer her to hospice care. But before being transferred, Palmer developed *212 a rash that progressed into Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. She then died on November 15, 1999.

¶ 6. In September of 2001, Audrey Bracey, individually and as representative of Palmer's heirs, filed a wrongful death action in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, First Judicial District, which, in relevant part, averred medical malpractice by Dr. David M. Sullivan. The complaint alleged that Palmer was receiving treatment from Dr. Sullivan in November of 1999, at which time he prescribed for her Vasotec, an ACE inhibitor, despite having access to her medical records which indicated that she was allergic to ACE inhibitors, and that, as a result, Palmer had an adverse reaction effectuating her development of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and, thus, causing her death. Dr. Sullivan responded denying, inter alia, having prescribed Palmer said drug.

¶ 7. The statute of limitations for this cause of action expired on November 15, 2001, yet in January of 2002, Bracey filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint for the purpose of additionally alleging that, despite knowing a person in renal failure could develop Stevens-Johnson Syndrome if prescribed allopurinol, Dr. Sullivan prescribed Zyloprim, which is an allopurinol, for Palmer, who was suffering from renal failure, causing Palmer to developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which produced her death. In November of 2002, Dr. Sullivan filed a motion for summary judgment. The court held a hearing on these motions the following March, after which it denied Bracey's motion for leave to amend and granted summary judgment for Dr. Sullivan. Aggrieved by the decision, Bracey appeals claiming that the judgment of the court as to each motion constitutes reversible error.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I.

MOTION TO AMEND THE PLEADINGS

¶ 8. "Motions for leave to amend are left to the sound discretion of the trial court." Frank v. Dore, 635 So.2d 1369, 1375 (Miss.1994) (citations omitted). Therefore, the standard under which we proceed is abuse of discretion. Id.

¶ 9. An action that alleges "wrongful death arising out of the course of medical, surgical or other professional services" must be "filed within two (2) years from the date the alleged act, omission or neglect shall or with reasonable diligence might have been first known or discovered...." Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-36(2) (Rev.2003). The statute of limitations for Bracey's wrongful death claim, sounding in negligence, began running on November 15, 1999, the date of Palmer's death, and under the statute, ran until November 15, 2001. Bracey originally filed suit on September 17, 2001, but the motion for leave to amend the complaint was not filed until January 8, 2002, which is undisputedly outside the statutorily prescribed period.

¶ 10. To be permissible once the statute of limitations has expired, a motion to amend must be in compliance with Rule 15(c) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that "[w]henever the claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleading, the amendment relates back to the date of the original pleading." M.R.C.P. 15(c). However, "the standard for determining whether amendments qualify under Rule 15(c) is not simply an identity of transaction test; although not expressly mentioned in the rule, the courts also inquire into whether the opposing party has been put on notice *213 regarding the claim or defense raised by the amended pleading." 6A CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT & ARTHUR R. MILLER, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1497 (2d ed.1990); Parker v. Miss. Game and Fish Comm'n, 555 So.2d 725, 731 (Miss.1989).

¶ 11.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bedford Health Prop. v. Estate of Williams
946 So. 2d 335 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2006)
Russell v. Ford Motor Co.
960 So. 2d 495 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
899 So. 2d 210, 2005 WL 89478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bracey-v-sullivan-missctapp-2005.