Mendel v. Williams

53 A.3d 810
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 20, 2012
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 53 A.3d 810 (Mendel v. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mendel v. Williams, 53 A.3d 810 (Pa. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION BY

LAZARUS, J.

April Mendel appeals from the March 17, 2011 and March 21, 2011 orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, sustaining the preliminary objections filed by Underwood Memorial Hospital (“Underwood”) and Doctor Robert Ocasio, M.D. asserting lack of personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. Mendel’s appeal requires us to determine whether a Pennsylvania court may assert personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state doctor, or corporate healthcare provider, in a medical malpractice action by a Pennsylvania resident who receives negligent treatment in a foreign jurisdiction. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Factual History

On July 31, 2008, Eric Williams, M.D. and Andrew Beaver, M.D. performed L3-S1 laminectomy surgery on Mendel’s spine at the Albert Einstein Medical Center (“Einstein”) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Doctor Williams and Doctor Beaver are licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania; both maintain a medical office and regular place of business at Einstein.

Mendel left Einstein on August 4, 2008, and returned to her home in Turnersville, New Jersey. The following week, on August 11, 2008, Mendel experienced drainage from her surgical wound and contracted a fever. Mendel contacted a member of Doctor William’s staff, later identified as Connie Massaro, who suggested that she [815]*815go to an emergency room. Mendel went to Underwood in Woodbury, New Jersey later that day.

Underwood emergency room physicians confirmed that Mendel had a wound infection in the laminectomy incision with purulent drainage. The emergency room physicians contacted Doctor Williams, who agreed to accept Mendel at Einstein, but stated that there would not be an available bed until the following day. In the interim, Mendel was admitted to the internal medicine service of Doctor Ocasio at Underwood.

During the course of the night, Mendel complained of worsening pain in her legs. Doctor Ocasio and other Underwood physicians approved increasingly strong pain medication, but failed to diagnose and treat the epidural abscess that was compressing Mendel’s spine. Mendel further alleges that Doctor Ocasio did not make any mention of Mendel’s pain in her discharge summary, describing her condition as “stable,” and that he certified her transfer to Einstein without warning Doctor Williams of her worsening condition.

Mendel was transported by ambulance to Einstein the following morning, on August 12, 2008. Doctor Williams performed additional surgery later that day at Einstein to correct the infected wound. The surgery revealed that the abscess extended to the spinal cord and that Mendel suffered paralysis below the waist. Doctors subsequently discharged Mendel to a rehabilitation center on August 29, 2008. Despite rehabilitation efforts, Mendel has not regained movement or feeling below the waist.

II. Procedural History

Mendel initiated the instant action by writ of summons in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County on July 28, 2010 against Underwood, Doctor Ocasio, Einstein and the treating physicians at Einstein. Mendel alleged that Doctor Ocasio and Underwood’s failure in New Jersey to timely diagnose and treat her injury, or to warn doctors at Einstein of her worsening condition, caused her paraplegia in Pennsylvania.

Mendel filed a complaint on August 6, 2010. Doctor Ocasio filed preliminary objections to the complaint on August 13, 2010, alleging lack of personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. Doctor Ocasio stated that Mendel’s cause of action against him arose in New Jersey, noting that his only interaction with Mendel was at Underwood, his medical practice is limited to New Jersey and he is a New Jersey resident. Doctor Ocasio further averred that he did not have sufficient contacts with Pennsylvania to establish general or specific jurisdiction in the Commonwealth. On March 17, 2011, the trial court entered an order dismissing Mendel’s action against Doctor Ocasio for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Underwood filed preliminary objections to Mendel’s complaint on September 14, 2011, also alleging Pennsylvania lacked personal jurisdiction. Underwood stated that Pennsylvania did not have general personal jurisdiction because Underwood was not served in Pennsylvania, is not a domiciliary of Pennsylvania and did not consent to suit in Pennsylvania. Additionally, Underwood claimed that Pennsylvania did not have specific personal jurisdiction because the cause of action did not arise out of Underwood’s activities within the Commonwealth. On March 21, 2011, the trial court entered its order dismissing the action against Underwood for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Mendel filed a timely appeal from the trial court’s March 17, 2011 and March 21, 2011 orders and timely complied with the [816]*816trial court’s order to file a statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). Mendel raises four issues for our review:1

I. Did the lower court err in dismissing Ms. Mendel’s claim against [Underwood] for alleged lack of general personal jurisdiction, where she presented evidence that the Hospital has purposefully directed its activities at residents of this jurisdiction, and its business activities here are continuous and substantial?
II. Did the lower court err in dismissing Ms. Mendel’s claims against [Underwood] for alleged lack of specific personal jurisdiction under 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 5822(a)(4) (regarding conduct outside this Commonwealth which causes tor-tious injury in this Commonwealth), where (a) Ms. Mendel alleged that the negligent medical care she received at Underwood had continued at the hospital in Philadelphia, PA to which Underwood had transferred her by ambulance, and that these negligent acts and omissions had combined to bring about the permanent paralysis she suffered in Pennsylvania; and (b) Ms. Mendel also presented evidence that Underwood has purposefully and continuously directed its activities to residents of this jurisdiction?
III. Did the lower court err in dismissing Ms. Mendel’s claim against Dr. Oca-sio for alleged lack of specific jurisdiction, where (a) Ms. Mendel alleged that the negligent medical care Dr. Ocasio provided at Underwood had continued at the hospital in Philadelphia, PA to which he had her transferred by ambulance; he had negligently failed to advise the medical staff in PA that Ms. Mendel was complaining of worsening pain for which he had prescribed increasingly strong narcotics, and the negligent acts and omissions of the New Jersey and PA physicians and hospitals had combined to bring about the permanent paralysis she suffered in Pennsylvania; and (b) Ms. Mendel also presented evidence that Dr. Ocasio has purposefully and continuously maintained substantial contacts with this jurisdiction?
IV.Did the trial court err in signing an Order which appeared to sustain Underwood’s preliminary objection to venue, where the trial court repeatedly stated in its Opinion only that it had sustained the preliminary objections to jurisdiction and said nothing about venue, and this medical malpractice action was brought to enforce a joint and several liability of New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania medical defendants, and it is undisputed that the latter were properly sued here in Philadelphia?

Brief of Appellant, at 5-6 (emphasis in original).

III.

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

Related

Dumond, Inc. v. Galgano, T.
2025 Pa. Super. 210 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025)
Duff, B. v. Lazor, K. v. Kozlina, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
H.S. v. D.S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Watson, A. v. Great Wolf Resorts
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Fuentes Merino, D. v. Repak, B.V.
2022 Pa. Super. 206 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2022)
Grady v. Rothwell
M.D. Pennsylvania, 2022
Fulano, J. v. Fanjul Corp.
2020 Pa. Super. 166 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)
Williams, J. v. OAO Severstal v. Tri-State Safety
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
In Re: C.A.T., Appeal of: K.C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
DOE v. WP COMPANY, LLC
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2019
The Wolf Organization, Inc. v. TNG Contractors, LLC
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2019
Vaughan Estate of Vaughan v. Olympus Am., Inc.
208 A.3d 66 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
In Re: Pelvic Mesh Litigation, Appeal of: Ethicon
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Seeley, T. v. Caesars Entertainment Corp.
206 A.3d 1129 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Creative Retail Communications LLC v. Kinser, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
SunLion Energy Sys. v. Jones Family Farm
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Webb-Benjamin, LLC v. Int'l Rug Grp., LLC
192 A.3d 1133 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
Hammons, P. v. Ethicon, Inc.
190 A.3d 1248 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
Gorton v. Air & Liquid Sys. Corp.
303 F. Supp. 3d 278 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 2018)
Ismail, A. v. Volvo Group North
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 A.3d 810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mendel-v-williams-pasuperct-2012.