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Jackson v. Brookwood Medical Center6/16/2000
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS (Re: Willie Johnson, etc.
Dr. David H. Jackson and Brookwood Medical Center ("Brookwood") petition for a writ of mandamus directing the Jefferson Circuit Court to enter a final judgment in their favor in a medical-malpractice action filed against them. They argue that the plaintiff's claims against them are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. We deny the writ.
I.
The evidence and the pleadings, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, suggest the following facts: In early 1993, Mrs. Lydia Darnell had a heart attack. She was treated at Walker Regional Medical Center ("Walker Regional") and was released. About a month later, she again sought treatment at Walker Regional. Her doctor admitted her to that hospital and then transferred her to Brookwood, where Dr. Jackson treated her. Dr. Jackson performed two angioplasty procedures on Mrs. Darnell; however, Mrs. Darnell died two days later.
Mrs. Darnell's brother, Willie Johnson, asked Dr. Jackson why Mrs. Darnell had died. Dr. Jackson told him that her heart was too weak to pull her through and that the two angioplasty procedures he performed did not cause or contribute to her death. Johnson believed Dr. Jackson and suspected that Mrs. Darnell's treatment at Walker Regional had led to her death. On April 11, 1995, within the time allowed by Ala. Code 1975, § 6-5-482, for filing a medical-liability action, Johnson filed this action in the Walker Circuit Court against Walker Regional and various fictitiously named defendants described as the "person, persons, entity, or entities working at Walker Regional Medical Center ... who were responsible for providing care for Mrs. Lydia Darnell."
In August 1994, Johnson sought and received Mrs. Darnell's medical records from Brookwood. Johnson's attorney had several physicians review the records. Until April 1996, all of those physicians concluded that Mrs. Darnell's treatment did not cause her death. However, in April 1996, another physician reviewed Mrs. Darnell's records and concluded that Mrs. Darnell died as a result of one of the angioplasty procedures Dr. Jackson had performed at Brookwood.
On May 15, 1996, Johnson amended his complaint to name Dr. Jackson and Brookwood as defendants. The amendment stated that Johnson was substituting Dr. Jackson and Brookwood for certain of the fictitious defendants named in his original complaint.
In August 1996, in the Walker Circuit Court, Dr. Jackson and Brookwood moved for a summary judgment. In October, the Walker Circuit Court severed Johnson's claims against Dr. Jackson and Brookwood from his claims against Walker Regional and transferred his claims against Dr. Jackson and Brookwood to the Jefferson Circuit Court. In March 1997, Dr. Jackson and Brookwood renewed their motion for a summary judgment. They argued, among other things, that Johnson's amended complaint had improperly attempted to substitute Dr. Jackson and Brookwood for the fictitious defendants identified in the original complaint, and that Johnson's claims against them did not relate back to the filing of the original complaint and were barred by the statute of limitations set forth in the Alabama Medical Liability Act. See Ala. Code 1975, § 6-5-482.
Johnson opposed their motion. He conceded that the amendment did not relate back to the filing of the original complaint. He argued, however, that his claims against Dr. Jackson and Brookwood were not barred by the statute of limitations because, he said, they were brought within six months after the date he discovered or could reasonably have discovered that he had a cause of action against those defendants. See
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