Necaise v. Sacks

841 So. 2d 1098, 2003 WL 1563439
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 2003
Docket2002-CA-00140-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 841 So. 2d 1098 (Necaise v. Sacks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Necaise v. Sacks, 841 So. 2d 1098, 2003 WL 1563439 (Mich. 2003).

Opinion

841 So.2d 1098 (2003)

Nancy NECAISE, Individually and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Charles Freeman, Deceased
v.
Matthew SACKS, M.D., and the Medical Oncology Group, P.A.

No. 2002-CA-00140-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 27, 2003.

Robert w. Smith, Biloxi, for appellant.

Joe R. Colingo, Kevin C. Bradley, Pascagoula, Joe Sam Owen, Gulfport, for appellees.

Before PITTMAN, C.J., WALLER AND CARLSON, JJ.

CARLSON, Justice, FOR THE COURT.

¶ 1. Aggrieved by the Hancock County Circuit Court's dismissal of her medical malpractice suit against Matthew Sacks, M.D. (Dr. Sacks), and the Medical Oncology Group, P.A., (MOG), Nancy Necaise (Necaise) appeals to this Court. Finding reversible error, we reverse and remand this case to the trial court.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN THE TRIAL COURT

¶ 2. Nancy Necaise's father, Charles Freeman (Freeman), was diagnosed with cancer in early 1998, and soon thereafter, he started chemotherapy treatment at MOG. For Freeman's intravenous chemotherapy treatment, the medical personnel used Taxol, a highly toxic drug used in battling systemic cancer. While Freeman's first treatment on January 22, 1998, was relatively uneventful, during his second treatment on February 12, 1998, Freeman *1099 began to experience pain, swelling, and discoloration in the arm into which the chemical was being infused. Over the next several days, the skin on Freeman's arm began to peel off and his arm became swollen to two or three times its normal size. As a result of what was characterized as a third degree chemical burn, Freeman had to undergo extensive treatment causing him to incur medical bills in excess of $170,000. Freeman was of the opinion that his injuries were a result of negligent chemotherapy treatment resulting in a chemical infiltration into the tissue of his arm, while Dr. Sacks and MOG opined that Freeman's injuries most likely resulted from an adverse drug reaction.

¶ 3. On August 19, 1998, Freeman commenced his medical malpractice suit against Dr. Sacks and an unidentified nurse, Jane Doe I, in the Circuit Court of Hancock County. Over the next few months, responsive pleadings were filed, discovery was commenced, and Freeman's attorney requested a trial setting.

¶ 4. Regrettably, Charles Freeman died from his cancer on January 9, 1999; however, as will be more fully hereinafter discussed, there was evidently no causal connection between any alleged medical negligence and Freeman's death. On February 22, 1999, Necaise, through the same attorney who had commenced the lawsuit for Freeman, filed in the same action a Motion to Substitute Party Plaintiff, alleging that Freeman had initially filed the lawsuit; that Freeman died of cancer on January 9, 1999; that Miss. R. Civ. P. 25 allowed for a party to be substituted for a party who died subsequent to commencement of a civil action; and, that Necaise was the natural daughter of Freeman and "a representative and wrongful death beneficiary of [Freeman]." Judge John Whitfield by an agreed order signed on March 3, 1999, and duly entered on March 8, 1999, authorized Necaise to be substituted as a party pursuant to Miss. R. Civ. P. 25, and this order further provided, inter alia, that Necaise, "individually and on behalf of the wrongful death beneficiaries of [Freeman] is hereby substituted as the party plaintiff in this [action]." On June 16, 1999, a notice of trial setting was administratively entered by the court administrator; this notice set a trial date of November 1, 1999, before Judge Robert H. Walker. On July 20, 1999, Judge Walker entered a scheduling order which set out various deadlines and confirmed the November 1st trial date.

¶ 5. On September 7, 1999, in cause number 99-0689 on the docket of the Chancery Court of Hancock County, the chancellor entered a Judgment Granting Probate of Will and Letters Testamentary. This chancery court judgment found as a fact that Freeman had died with a will; that Freeman's estate consisted only of a cause of action for "personal injuries and/or wrongful death;" that Freeman was survived only by Necaise; and, that prior to his death Freeman had entered into an employment contract with a law firm concerning his personal injury claim. This chancery court judgment likewise adjudicated, inter alia, that Freeman's will be admitted to probate; that Necaise be appointed as executrix of Freeman's estate; that the employment contract with the law firm be approved; and, that the law firm take all necessary action to preserve Freeman's claim in behalf of the executrix and the estate, including the initiation of legal proceedings "against all necessary parties for the preservation of [the claim]."

¶ 6. Subsequent to the circuit court order substituting Necaise as a party, and the chancery court judgment appointing Necaise as the executrix of Freeman's estate, and upon entry of a circuit court *1100 order authorizing the filing of an amended complaint, Necaise filed her First Amended Complaint on September 30, 1999. Notwithstanding Freeman's intervening death since the commencement of the lawsuit, the amended complaint did not contain a wrongful death claim and in fact was remarkably similar to the original complaint. A paragraph-by-paragraph comparison of the original complaint and the first amended complaint reveals the following information: The introductory paragraph in both complaints states, "COMES NOW THE PLAINTIFF, Charles Freeman, and files his complaint. ....", again, notwithstanding the fact that Freeman had died by the time of the filing of the first amended complaint; paragraph number one (1) of both complaints states, "Plaintiff is an adult resident citizen of Harrison County, First Judicial District.;"[1] paragraph number two-A (2A) pertaining to Dr. Sacks is the same in both complaints; paragraph number two-B (2B) of the original complaint named Jane Doe as a defendant while paragraph number two-B (2B) of the amended complaint named MOG as a defendant; paragraph number three (3), setting out the alleged negligent actions of the defendants, is the same in both complaints; paragraph number four (4), setting out the causal connection between the alleged negligence and the damages, is the same in both complaints; paragraph number five-A (5A) of the original complaint set outs the alleged negligent acts of Nurse Doe, while paragraph number five-A (5A) of the amended complaint specifically names the nurse and alleges that she is an employee of MOG, but the alleged acts of negligence are the same in both complaints; paragraph number five-B (5B) of the original complaint sets out the alleged negligent acts of Dr. Sacks, while paragraph number five-B (5B) of the amended complaint charges both Dr. Sacks and MOG with negligence, but the alleged acts of negligence are the same in both complaints; paragraph number six (6) in both complaints allege that the nurse was acting under the direction and control of Dr. Sacks, and that Dr. Sacks was responsible for his nurse's actions under the respondeat superior doctrine, with the only difference in the two paragraphs being that in the amended complaint, the nurse is specifically named and is specifically alleged to be Dr. Sacks's employee; paragraph number seven (7), setting out Freeman's injuries, is the same in both complaints; and, the ad damnum clauses in both complaints specifically request the same amount of damages. However, of particular note is one major difference between the two complaints. The original complaint was styled "Charles Freeman v. Matthews Sacks, M.D.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
841 So. 2d 1098, 2003 WL 1563439, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/necaise-v-sacks-miss-2003.