Cedeño v. Sur Med Medical Center

977 F. Supp. 2d 115
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedOctober 17, 2013
DocketCivil No. 12-1867 (GAG)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 977 F. Supp. 2d 115 (Cedeño v. Sur Med Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cedeño v. Sur Med Medical Center, 977 F. Supp. 2d 115 (prd 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GUSTAVO A. GELPÍ, District Judge.

On October 12, 2012, Eliezer Rodriguez Cedeño (“Plaintiff’) filed the instant action under the court’s diversity jurisdiction, alleging medical malpractice against St. Luke’s Hospital d/b/a Hospital San Lucas (“St. Luke’s or Defendant”) and various other defendants. (Docket No. 1.) Pending before the court is Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment. (Docket No. 102.) Defendant seeks a declaration that the Regional Academic Medical Centers Act, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 24, § 10031 et seq. (2006) limits its liability. (Docket No. 102.) Defendant also requests the law’s application as to co-defendants Dr. Jorge Martinez Trabal (“Martinez Trabal”), Dr. García Gubern and Dr. Humberto Simonetti (“Simonetti”). Id. Plaintiff opposed said motion and requested a finding that Defendants are not covered by the liability [116]*116caps. (See Docket Nos. 112, 113.) As its preliminary issue, Plaintiff seeks prompt resolution of “cap” issue due to its substantial effect on settlement negotiations. (Docket No. 114.)

I. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “An issue is genuine if ‘it may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party’ at trial, and material if it ‘possesses] the capacity to sway the outcome of the litigation under the applicable law.’ ” Iverson v. City of Boston, 452 F.3d 94, 98 (1st Cir.2006) (alteration in original) (internal citations omitted). The moving party bears the initial burden of demonstrating the lack of evidence to support the non-moving party’s case. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. “The movant must aver an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case. The burden then shifts to the nonmovant to establish the existence of at least one fact issue which is both genuine and material.” Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodriguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994). The nonmovant may establish a fact is genuinely in dispute by citing particular evidence in the record or showing that either the materials cited by the movant “do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). If the court finds that some genuine factual issue remains, the resolution of which could affect the outcome of the case, then the court must deny summary judgment. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and give that party the benefit of any and all reasonable inferences. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Moreover, at the summary judgment stage, the court does not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence. Id. Summary judgment may be appropriate, however, if the non-moving party’s case rests merely upon “conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation.” Forestier Fradera v. Mun. of Mayaguez, 440 F.3d 17, 21 (1st Cir.2006) (quoting Benoit v. Technical Mfg. Corp., 331 F.3d 166, 173 (1st Cir.2003)).

II. Relevant Factual Background

St. Luke’s Hospital and the Ponce School of Medicine became affiliated through the creation of the “HESL-PSM” consortium. (Docket No. 113 ¶ 3.) The consortium’s mission is to advance the education and training of residents from different practices and to develop quality medical education in the southwest region of the island. (Docket Nos. 102, 103-8.) On November 11, 2011, Plaintiff arrived at St. Luke’s Hospital’s emergency room and was admitted as a patient. (Docket Nos. 103 ¶ 4; 113 ¶ 6.) Upon his arrival to St. Luke’s Hospital, Plaintiff consented to be evaluated and treated by medical residents. (Docket Nos. 103 ¶ 6; 103-2.) During the course of evaluation and diagnosis, Martinez Trabal and Simonetti intervened directly with Plaintiff. (Docket Nos. 103 ¶ 6; 113 ¶ 6.) At the moment of the events, both Simonetti and Martinez Trabal were contracted as teaching physicians with the HESL-PSM consortium. (Docket Nos. 103 ¶ 8; 113 ¶ 8.)

[117]*117St. Luke’s claims Plaintiff was admitted directly into the Internal Medicine Residency Program by Dr. Jose Santiago Rodriguez and Dr. Alejandro de los Santos, both residents of that Department. (Docket No. 108 ¶ 7.) St. Luke’s also claims that the treatment provided to Plaintiff was at all times conducted by the Regional Academic Medical Center’s residency program. (Docket No. 103 ¶ 9.) Plaintiff opposes this fact claiming that it is not supported by the record citations. (Docket No. 113 ¶ 5.)

The parties offer differing procedures to determine whether a patient is considered admitted as a patient of the residency program. A patient of the residency program is considered to have entered the hospital’s teaching stream. A patient in the hospital’s teaching stream is covered by the cap. Plaintiff argues that to enter the hospital’s teaching stream, the admission must be carried out by a physician member of the residency program. (Docket No. 113 ¶ 7.) Plaintiffs argument is based solely on Dr. Luisa Alvarado’s testimony. (See Docket No. 103-1.) Plaintiff further argues that the admitting physician criterion is the only mechanism by which a patient may be considered to have entered of the hospital’s teaching stream. (See Docket 103-1 at 36, L.L. 2-25.) However, Plaintiffs argument is contradicted by Martínez Trabal’s testimony. Martinez Trabal states that, as a member of the teaching faculty, any patient he admits or evaluates during the course of treatment, automatically enters the hospital’s teaching stream. (Docket 103-7 at 12-16.)

III. Discussion

A. Caps on Liability

Law No. 136 of July 27, 2006 created “Regional Academic Medical Centers” (the “RMAC Act”), with the purpose of promoting and strengthening educational health programs in Puerto Rico. tit. 24, § 10031 et seq. To this end, the statute extended to covered institutions the liability caps previously conferred by the Claims against the Commonwealth Act, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 32, § 3077 (1955) to government employed physicians for alleged acts of malpractice. The statute provides:

The limitations imposed in [P.R. Laws Ann. tit.

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977 F. Supp. 2d 115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cedeno-v-sur-med-medical-center-prd-2013.