Grover v. Spring Harbor Hosp.

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: June 15, 2007
• Docket: CUMcv-04-210
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT Cumberland, SS Civil Action 9f_c~e~ ,No., ~~~-~4-~. _ . '!' -

PATRICIA GROVER, individually, And as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Tracey Grover,

Plaintiff DECISION AND ORDER v. ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT SPRING HARBOR HOSPITAL and WILLIAM BRENNAN, M.D.

Defendants DONALD \, .. G~.RBRECHl A.\'.II'n~1AQ'" .l.i"''' , '.

AUG 2. 0 "lUUI I. BEFORE THE COURT

The defendants have moved for partial summary judgment on plaintiff's

claims for pecuniary loss, pain and suffering and emotional distress.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

On May 4,2006, Patricia Grover, as personal representative of the Estate of

Tracey Grover, filed a two-count complaint for damages stemming from the

alleged medical malpractice of Dr. William Brennan and his employer, Spring

Harbor Hospital (SHH). The claims arise from the admission of Tracey Grover to

SHH on July 2, 2002 and her discharge on July 3, 2002. On the day after her

discharge (July 4, 2002) she committed she committed suicide. The plaintiff

alleges, inter alia, the defendants failed to conduct a thorough examination,

perform a suicide risk assessment, to properly diagnose and treat her mental

condition and that they released her from the hospital prematurely without an

adequate care plan. III. DISCUSSION

A. Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

This court will grant a motion for summary judgment when no genuine

issue of material facts exists and any party is entitled to judgment as a matter of

law. Gagnon's Hardware & Furniture v. Michaud, 1998 ME 265, lJI 5, 721 A.2d 193,

194; M.R. Civ. P. 56(c). A fact is material when it may change the outcome of the

case and "a genuine issue exists when sufficient evidence supports a factual

contest to require a fact finder to choose between competing versions of the truth

at trial." Burdzel v. Sobus, 2.000 ME 84, lJI 6, 750 A.2d 573, 575. When

"determining whether to grant or deny a motion for a summary judgment, the

trial court is to consider only the portions of the record referred to, and the

material facts set forth in the [statement of material facts]." Corey v. Norman,

Hanson & DeTroy, 1999 ME 196, lJI 8,742 A. 2d 933, 938 (internal quotations and

citations omitted). The court gives the party opposing a summary judgment the

benefit of any inferences that might reasonably be drawn from the facts

presented. Curtis v. Porter, 2001 ME 158, lJI 9, 784 A.2d 18, 22.

Pecuniary loss, conscious pain and suffering and emotional distress are

compensable under Maine's Wrongful Death Act. 18-A M.R.S.A. §2-804(B-C).

When evidence is speculative, requiring guesswork and conjecture, and a fact

finder cannot determine loss with reasonably certainty, damages may not be

awarded. Carter v. WilliamsI' 2002 ME 50, lJI 9; 792 A.2d 1093, 1097.

B. Pecuniary Loss

It is inherently difficult to determine pecuniary loss upon the death of a

child. Carter, 2002 ME 50, lJI 10, 792 A.2d at 1097 (upholding judge's

determination that pecuniary damage award to parents too speculative when

2 decedent was a child and there is no evidence that the child would be willing or

able to provide financial support for mother in the future).

In order to survive summary judgment, plaintiff must provide some

evidence establishing a prima facie claim for pecuniary loss to Patricia Grover.

Here, Tracey Grover was not a child; she was a twenty-year-old woman, who

suffered from mental health problems was being partially supported by her

mother. PSMF err 30. There is no evidence of any meaningful employment

history, however, plaintiff has offered evidence by an economist as to Tracey

Grover's earning potential. PASMF err 15. Patricia Grover believes that Tracey

would have supported her in some manner and states that Tracey told her that

she would take care of Pab~icia when she got older. PSMF errerr 23-24. Patricia's

belief and Tracey's inadmissible hearsay statements do not meet the elements of

a claim for pecuniary damages. The plaintiff's evidence that Tracey Grover

would be able or willing to economically assist her is speculation only; therefore,

Patricia Grover is unable to demonstrate that she has personally been

economically harmed by Tracey Grover's death.

C. Conscious Pain and Suffering

The defendants concede for the purposes of their motion that Tracey

Grover suffered conscious pain and suffering, but contend that the cause of her

suffering was a result of her mental state and not the actions of the defendants. It

is the jury's function to determine if the conduct of the defendant was a

substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injury and to apportion the harm.

Restatement (2d) Torts § 434. Here the plaintiff maintains that the negligence of

Dr. Brennan in discharging Tracey prevented her from getting treatment to

alleviate her emotional suffering. The plaintiff's expert witness will testify that

3 Dr. Brennan's malpractice included a failure to stabilize Tracey prior to her

discharge and as a result she endured pain and suffering. Pl.'s Response to

DSNIF

concerning whether Tracey experienced pain and suffering as a result of the

defendants' malpractice.

D. Emotional Distress

"For a bystander to recover for emotional distress proximately caused by a

defendant's negligence toward another person, the bystander must demonstrate

that she was present at the scene of the accident; that she suffered serious mental

distress as a result of contemporaneously perceiving the accident; and that she

was closely related to the victim." Champagne v. Mid-Maine Med. Ctr., 1998 ME

87, P13, 711 A.2d 842, 846. See also, Nelson v. Flanagan, 677 A.2d 545 (Me. 1996)

(holding that because son was not present at hospital when hospital's alleged

negligence occurred, he is unable to recover on a claim of negligent infliction of

emotional distress). Here, there is no evidence on the record that Patricia Grover

was physically present when Tracey Grover was being treated, witnessed Tracey

Grover's suffering or witnessed Tracey Grover's suicifie. Therefore, Patricia

Grover cannot demonstrate that she suffered emotional distress proximately

caused by perceiving the defendant's negligence.

IV. DECISION AND ORDER

The clerk will make the following entries onto the docket as the Decision

and Order of the court:

A. The defendants' M:otion for Partial Summary Judgment is granted as to plaintiff's individual / personal claims for pecuniary losses and emotional distress.

4 B. The defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is denied as to claims by the estate for Tracey Grover's conscious pain and suffering.

SO ORDERED.

tyll J.H,,~,vurt

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