Medical Hospital of Buna Texas, Inc. v. Wheatley

287 S.W.3d 286, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2769, 2008 WL 5978895
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 23, 2009
Docket09-08-00183-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 287 S.W.3d 286 (Medical Hospital of Buna Texas, Inc. v. Wheatley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Medical Hospital of Buna Texas, Inc. v. Wheatley, 287 S.W.3d 286, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2769, 2008 WL 5978895 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION

CHARLES KREGER, Justice.

Medical Hospital of Buna, Texas, Inc., d/b/a Buna Medical Center Rehabilitation Nursing (“Buna Medical Center”) brings this interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s denial of its motion to dismiss for plaintiff Iona Wheatley’s failure to file required expert reports pursuant to the Medical Liability Act (“MLA”). See Tex. Civ. Prao. & Rem.Codb AnN. §§ 74.001-.507 (Vernon 2005 and Supp.2008). Because we find that the claims asserted by plaintiff constitute health care liability claims subject to the MLA, we reverse the decision of the court below.

BACKGROUND

On October 17, 2007, Wheatley brought the underlying suit against Buna Medical Center and NCM of Texas, Inc., d/b/a Edgewood Manor Nursing Home where Helm was a resident at the time of her death, alleging that Helm was deprived of basic human necessities during Hurricane Rita, which ultimately led to her death. Helm is alleged to have died on October 10, 2005, at Edgewood in Texarkana, Texas, where she was transferred following Hurricane Rita. On February 1, 2008, Wheatley filed her First Amended Petition, which set forth allegations and claims virtually identical to those set forth in her Original Petition.1

Wheatley alleged that she sought the services of Buna Medical Center nursing home in connection with the convalescence of her elderly mother, Helm. On or about September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita hit the coastal area of Texas, necessitating a mandatory evacuation of many southeasterly Texas homes and businesses, including, but not limited to, Buna Medical Center, the nursing home facility in which Helm was a resident. Wheatley claimed that “[a]s a result of the evacuation, [Helm] was transferred to the nursing home owned and/or operated by Defendant, [Edge-wood] Manor, where she died on October 10, 2005, as a result of the negligent care she received at the hands of one or both Defendants.” In her First Amended Petition Wheatley made the following allegations in support of her claims against the nursing home entities:

Plaintiff would show that the injuries and death of [Helm] were a direct result of the Defendants’ breach of the duty of care owed to Plaintiff and Decedent. Plaintiff would show that one or both Defendants have failed, generally and specifically as to [Helm], to adequately staff or supervise the personnel at the nursing home, failed to properly attend to the needs of the residents of the nursing home, failed to properly monitor the activities and status of the residents of the nursing home, to prevent injury. [290]*290or death and that all of these activities constitute negligence and directly resulted in the death of [Helm].

Wheatley also alleged that Defendants “failed to provide [Helm] with adequate supervision in order to provide her with safety and to prevent a catastrophic life-threatening event from occurring....” Wheatley asserted that the Defendants had or would receive notice of her claim pursuant to section 74.051 of the MLA and that she had complied with all the requirements of section 74.051 in filing her claim. Id. § 74.051. Finally, Wheatley alleged that limitations on non-economic damages in medical negligence cases under the MLA violated the Texas and United States Constitutions. See id. § 74.310.

On March 12, 2008, Buna Medical Center filed a motion to dismiss Wheatley’s suit under section 74.351 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code as a result of Wheatley’s failure to file an expert report by the 120th day after the date her Original Petition was filed in compliance with the MLA. Wheatley did not fíle a written response to the motion. On April 4, 2008, the trial court heard defendant’s motion to dismiss. On the day of hearing, Wheatley filed a Second Amended Petition.

In Wheatley’s Second Amended Petition she asserted claims for intentional, reckless and negligent bodily injury, and for failing to provide Helm with adequate supervision. Wheatley deleted all references to Chapter 74 of the MLA from her allegations. In her Second Amended Petition Wheatley alleged the following in support of her claims:

Prior to Hurricane Rita coming ashore, BUNA MEDICAL abandoned many of the facility’s residents, including the elderly Decedent, at the facility. No notice of the intended abandonment was given to Plaintiff. No provision was made to prevent the obvious resulting harm. Decedent was deprived of food and water, ultimately resulting in her death. At some point, Decedent was transported to EDGEWOOD MANOR, where she died on October 10, 2005 from dehydration and malnutiition.

Wheatley again alleged, “one or both Defendants failed to provide [Helm] with adequate supervision in order to prevent a catastrophic life-threatening event from occurring and failed to prevent [Helm] from suffering conditions which led or contributed to her untimely and wrongful death.”

At the hearing on the motion to dismiss it was undisputed that the 120-day deadline for filing expert reports required under the MLA had passed. The trial court heard arguments from both parties as to whether Wheatley's claims were health care liability claims giving rise to the duty to file an expert report under the time limitations set forth in the statute. Without making any findings, the trial court denied the motion to dismiss. No party requested findings of fact or conclusions of law from the trial court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“We generally review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss under section 74.351(b) for abuse of discretion.” Schmidt v. Dubose, 259 S.W.3d 213, 215 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2008, no pet.). Where, as here, the issues involve statutory construction and the applicability of Chapter 74 to plaintiffs claims, a de novo standard of review is applied. See Buck v. Blum, 130 S.W.3d 285, 290 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, no pet.).

THE MEDICAL LIABILITY ACT

Section 74.351 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code provides as follows:

[291]*291(a) In a health care liability claim, a claimant shall, not later than the 120th day after the date the original petition was filed, serve on each party or the party’s attorney one or more expert reports, with a curriculum vitae of each expert listed in the report for each physician or health care provider against whom a liability claim is asserted. The date for serving the report may be extended by written agreement of the affected parties. Each defendant physician or health care provider whose conduct is implicated in a report must file and serve any objection to the sufficiency of the report not later than the 21st day after the date it was served, failing which all objections are waived.
(b) If, as to a defendant physician or health care provider, an expert report has not been served within the pexiod specified by Subsection (a), the court, on the motion of the affected physician or health care provider, shall, subject to Subsection (c), enter an order that:
(1) awards to the affected physician or health care provider reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of court incurred by the physician or health care provider; and
(2) dismisses the claim with respect to the physician or health care provider, with prejudice to the refiling of the claim.

Tex. Civ.

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

Related

in Re: Patrick Jeroid Jones
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Drewery v. Adventist Health System/Texas, Inc.
344 S.W.3d 498 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
Texas Cypress Creek Hospital, L.P. v. Hickman
329 S.W.3d 209 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Medical Hospital of Buna Texas, Inc. v. Wheatley
287 S.W.3d 286 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
287 S.W.3d 286, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2769, 2008 WL 5978895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/medical-hospital-of-buna-texas-inc-v-wheatley-texapp-2009.