Parks v. Louisiana Guest House, Inc.

155 So. 3d 609, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 2121, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2329, 2014 WL 4852790
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 30, 2014
DocketNos. 2013 CA 2121, 2013 CA 2122
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 155 So. 3d 609 (Parks v. Louisiana Guest House, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parks v. Louisiana Guest House, Inc., 155 So. 3d 609, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 2121, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2329, 2014 WL 4852790 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

GUIDRY, J.

|2The children of a deceased nursing home resident appeal a trial court’s judgment finding their wrongful death and survival action claims, premised on alleged medical malpractice and violations of the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, prescribed. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The decedent, Robert Parks, suffered from a variety of health problems, including Alzheimer’s, which required that he receive skilled nursing care. While a resident of Louisiana Guest House, Inc., a nursing home, Mr. Parks developed decub-iti (bed sores), which allegedly became infected and caused him to contract pneumo[610]*610nia and sepsis. On April 29, 2003, Mr. Parks filed a petition for damages against Louisiana Guest House, Inc., alleging medical malpractice and violations of La. R.S. 40:2010.8-2010.10, the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights, because of the bed sores he had developed while a resident of Louisiana Guest House. According to the petition for damages filed by Mr. Parks, he resided in the nursing home from March 5, 2002, to June 18, 2002.

Because Mr. Parks alleged that his injury resulted from medical malpractice, he also filed a request for review of his malpractice complaint with the Division of Administration on April 29, 2003.1 The only claimant named in the malpractice complaint was Mr. Parks, but in addition to Louisiana Guest House, Inc., he also named Dr. Jerry V. Williams, nurses Renee Johnson, Alice Williams, and Norma G. Martin, and certified nursing assistants Janet Williams and Berry Shopshire, as defendants in his request for review. Although the request for review was timely filed, because the matter had not yet been reviewed by a medical review panel, in accordance with the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, La. R.S. 40:1299.41-49, | .^Louisiana Guest House, Inc. filed a dilatory exception raising the objection of prematurity to Mr. Parks’ petition for damages. The trial court overruled Louisiana Guest House, Inc.’s exception, and the nursing home appealed that judgment to this court. On appeal, this court reversed and remanded the matter with instructions to stay the proceedings pending presentation of the claims to a medical review panel. See Parks v. Louisiana Guest House, Inc., 04-0516 (La.App. 1st Cir. 3/24/05), 898 So.2d 638 (unpublished opinion). A decision of the medical review panel was rendered on November 2, 2004, finding none of the defendants named in the malpractice complaint had violated the applicable standard of care.

Mr. Parks died on September 23, 2003. On February 7, 2005, a petition alleging wrongful death and survival action claims, premised on the same negligent conduct alleged in Mr. Parks’ April 29, 2003 petition for damages, was filed by Mr. Parks’ children, Chad Parks, Robbyn Parks, and Jadah Parks, and by Mr. Parks’ widow, Doris Parks, individually and on behalf of her deceased husband (collectively “plaintiffs”).2 All of the defendants named in the medical review panel request were named as defendants in the plaintiffs’ petition. Louisiana Guest House, Inc., Renee Johnson, Alice Williams, Norma G. Martin, Janet Williams, and Berry Shopshire (collectively “LGH”) filed an answer to the plaintiffs’ petition on June 1, 2005, and Dr. Williams filed a separate answer to the plaintiffs’ petition on June 28, 2005. On May 19, 2006, the trial court granted a motion to consolidate the plaintiffs’ suit (docket number 528,994) with the suit previously filed by Mr. Parks (docket number 507,047). Thereafter, summary judgment was signed in favor of Dr. Williams on August 8, 2006, dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims against him, with prejudice.3 The consolidated actions remained pending against LGH.

[611]*611|4On May 17, 2013, LGH filed a peremptory exception urging the objection of prescription as to the plaintiffs’ suit (docket number 528,994). In urging the objection of prescription, LGH pointed out that the plaintiffs’ wrongful death and survival action claims were premised on allegations of medical malpractice and that all the defendants were qualified healthcare providers. Thus, LGH asserted that the plaintiffs were required to present their claims to a medical review panel, which LGH alleged plaintiffs did not do. LGH further stated that the plaintiffs’ claims were premised on medical care and treatment that terminated on June 18, 2002, and that Mr. Parks had died on September 23, 2003. Accordingly, LGH stated that more than one year had elapsed since the last alleged act of malpractice, as well as since the death of Mr. Parks, and the date the plaintiffs filed suit on February 7, 2005. Thus, LGH argued that under either La. R.S. 9:5628 or La. C.C. art. 3492, the plaintiffs’ claims should be deemed prescribed. See La. C.C. art. 2315.2(B).

In a separate pleading, LGH also filed peremptory exceptions raising the objections of no cause of action and no right of action relative to Mr. Parks’ suit (docket number 507,047). In objecting to Mr. Parks’ petition, LGH argued that because no one had been substituted as party plaintiff for Mr. Parks following his death on September 23, 2003, the action could not be maintained. LGH further argued that a claim under the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights could be maintained against the nursing home facility only and could not be asserted against individual staff members of the nursing home.

The trial court scheduled all the exceptions to be heard on the same date, but before the hearing was held, LGH filed a motion for summary judgment and another peremptory exception raising the objection of prescription. In seeking summary judgment, LGH alleged that the plaintiffs “have produced no admissible evidence sufficient to sustain the burden of proving that the nursing staff failed to |smeet the applicable standard of care or that their negligence caused injury to Robert Parks or any plaintiff.” In reurging prescription, LGH again asserted that the “plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the passage of the applicable one-year prescriptive period.” The trial court set the hearing for the motion for summary judgment and the re-urged objection of prescription on the same date as the pending exceptions.

Following the hearing on all the exceptions and the motion for summary judgment, the trial court rendered judgment sustaining the exception based on prescription as to the plaintiffs’ claims asserted under docket number 528,994, and in so finding, the trial court denied LGH’s motion for summary judgment as moot. The trial court also sustained the exception urging no right of action as to.Mr. Parks’ suit under docket number 507,047, but granted fifteen days for the defect in Mr. Parks’ suit to be cured.4 The plaintiffs moved for a devolutive appeal of the judgment sustaining the exception based on prescription, which motion was granted by the trial court.

DISCUSSION

The liberative prescription applicable to actions for medical malpractice against qualified healthcare providers, such as LGH, is governed by special legislation contained in the Medical Malpractice Act, La. R.S. 40:1299.41-1299.49, and in La. [612]*612R.S. 9:5628. See LeBreton v. Rabilo, 97-2221, pp. 7-8 (La.7/8/98), 714 So.2d 1226, 1229. In particular, La. R.S. 9:5628 states, in pertinent part:

A.

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155 So. 3d 609, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 2121, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2329, 2014 WL 4852790, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parks-v-louisiana-guest-house-inc-lactapp-2014.