Medicomp, Inc. v. Marshall

878 So. 2d 193, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 129, 2004 WL 333171
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 24, 2004
DocketNo. 2002-CA-00795-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 878 So. 2d 193 (Medicomp, Inc. v. Marshall) 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
Medicomp, Inc. v. Marshall, 878 So. 2d 193, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 129, 2004 WL 333171 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

CHANDLER, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. This is the appeal of a $1,500,0001 jury verdict in favor of Paul Marshall against Medicomp, Inc. rendered in the Circuit Court of Copiah County. Initially, Marshall filed suit against Hardy Wilson Memorial Hospital and Dr. Dale Williams seeking damages for injuries he suffered as a result of the alleged negligent treatment of burns to his right leg. More than four years later Marshall filed a motion to amend his complaint seeking to add Medi-eomp as a new party to the suit. The circuit court granted Marshall’s motion and held that the amended pleading would relate back to the original complaint. The amended complaint was filed the same day adding Medicomp as a party and dismissing Hardy Wilson. Medicomp denied all liability and subsequently moved for summary judgment on three separate occasions arguing that the statute of limitations had expired. The motions were all denied and a trial on the matter took place. At the close of Marshall’s evidence, Dr. Williams’s motion for a directed verdict was granted. Medicomp’s motion for a directed verdict was denied. Medi-comp’s request for a peremptory instruction was also denied. After the jury verdict was rendered, Medicomp moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, mistrial, new trial, and an investigation into alleged juror misconduct or in the alternative, a remittitur. All of Medicomp’s post trial motions were denied and this appeal followed. Marshall cross-appeals the circuit court’s directed verdict in favor of Dr. Dale Williams.

FACTS

¶ 2. On January 31, 1995, Marshall left his residence in Hazlehurst, Mississippi and traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to get his monthly disability check which was still being sent to his former mailing address in Birmingham. The trip required an overnight stay in Birmingham and Marshall had come prepared to spend the night at his former residence. He had also come prepared to build a fire in the fireplace because the residence had no gas or electricity. After nightfall, a fire was begun in the fireplace; however, Marshall added gasoline to the fire and spillage from the gasoline caused his clothing to ignite and resulted in the injuries that are the subject of this appeal.

¶ 3. Marshall drove himself to the emergency room at Baptist Princeton Hospital in Birmingham where he received treatment for a fairly significant burn to his right leg. The wound was cleaned and excised of any dead or contaminated tissue in a process commonly known as debridement. A topical burn cream and dressing was applied to the wound and pain medication and a tetanus shot were administered to Marshall. Hospital records indicate that Marshall was diagnosed with second degree burns to his leg. He was instructed to return in two days to be reexamined and to leave the dressing on the wound until that time.

¶ 4. The following day, February 1,1995, Marshall drove back to his residence in Hazlehurst, arriving there at about 4:00 p.m. Sometime following his arrival home Marshall’s wife removed the dressing from the wound. By 9:00 p.m. the wound had become very painful and its appearance caused enough concern that an ambulance was called to transport Marshall to the emergency room at Hardy Wilson Hospital in Hazlehurst. Marshall was examined by the on-call emergency room physician, Dr. [196]*196Williams, who diagnosed him with second degree burns. Burn cream and a clean dressing was applied to Marshall’s wounds. Hospital records indicate that Marshall was instructed to return at 8:00 a.m. the next day, February 2, 1995, for a whirlpool bath. He was also advised to see a local physician, Dr. Walker, on February 3, 1995. Written instructions to apply burn cream to the wound twice a day and to keep the wound wrapped until he had a chance to see Dr. Walker were also provided.

¶ 5. What happened the next day, February 2, 2003, was a matter of considerable controversy at the trial. Marshall testified that he showed up as scheduled at the emergency room at Hardy Wilson for his whirlpool bath and was told to go down the hall a few doors to the physical therapy department. He testified that when he arrived there he was told that there was no therapist on duty to give him the bath and that there would not be a therapist there that day. He testified that an appointment was then made for him to come in the next day.

¶ 6. Medicomp employees testified that Marshall called the physical therapy department on February 2, 2003, and an appointment was made over the telephone for him to come in the following day, February 3, 2003. All of the witnesses agreed that Marshall came in as scheduled on February 3, 2003, but that, once again, there was no one available to give him a whirlpool bath.

¶ 7. Marshall testified that he became upset and frustrated when he learned that he would not be able to receive his bath as scheduled. He stated that he was in a lot of pain from his wound and begged to be allowed to see the emergency room doctor or to be given transportation to a hospital in Jackson. He said his pleas were ignored and he was simply told that he would have to leave because there was no one to treat him.

¶ 8. To the contrary, Medicomp and Hardy Wilson personnel testified that Marshall was given the option of seeing the emergency room doctor and an offer was made to drive him a short distance away to Dr. Walker’s office where he already had a 4:00 p.m. appointment for that same day; but, Marshall refused all offers of help. Instead, he became more and more belligerent to the point that law enforcement had to be summoned to remove him from the premises.

¶ 9. Marshall’s wife testified that she learned of the commotion at the hospital and went there. She testified that she calmed her husband down and convinced him to go with her to Dr. Walker’s office. When they arrived at Dr. Walker’s office, Marshall was refused treatment because Mrs. Marshall had a past due account with the doctor.

¶ 10. Mrs. Marshall then drove her husband to Kings Daughters Hospital in Brookhaven where he was immediately admitted and remained for seventeen days for treatment of second and third degree burns to his leg, some of which had become infected. Marshall’s lawsuit sought compensation for the actions and inactions of Hardy Wilson, Dr. Dale Williams and Medicomp in their treatment of his injury.

¶ 11. Medicomp submits that the trial court erred in granting Marshall’s motion to amend his complaint and in denying Medicomp’s numerous motions for dismissal, when the limitation period applicable to Marshall’s claims had obviously expired. Additionally, Medicomp alleges that the trial court erred in permitting Marshall to argue that the statute of limitations was tolled based upon the doctrine of fraudulent concealment, when Marshall never pleaded or proved the necessary elements [197]*197of fraudulent concealment. Finding merit in Medicomp’s arguments, this Court reverses and renders.

ANALYSIS

1. statute of limitations

¶ 12. Marshall sued on various legal theories including violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTLA), negligence and breach of contract. When Marshall rested his case in chief Medieomp made a motion for a directed verdict challenging the sufficiency of the evidence on Marshall’s various theories. Counsel for Marshall, Mr. Rhodes, responded that, “In the pretrial order, he is only pursuing ... the negligence claim against Medieomp.” The trial court then inquired as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
878 So. 2d 193, 2004 Miss. App. LEXIS 129, 2004 WL 333171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/medicomp-inc-v-marshall-missctapp-2004.