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Medlantic Long Term Care Corp. v. Smith2/7/2002
Argued February 16, 2000
Helen Smith, the personal representative of the estate of Elizabeth Ferguson, brought a medical malpractice survival action seeking compensatory and punitive damages alleging that the nursing and medical care provided to Ms. Ferguson while she was a patient at Medlantic Manor in Silver Spring, Maryland, was below the standard of care and proximately caused her death in the District of Columbia. Appellants filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds of forum non conveniens, which was denied "for the reasons stated in plaintiff's opposition." Appellants claim that the denial of their motion was an abuse of discretion because the trial court did not consider the interest of the state of Maryland in deciding an action that involves the standard of conduct to be expected of Maryland health care practitioners in treating a patient residing in a Maryland nursing home. Appellants further argue that the complaint should be dismissed because they should not have to defend a lawsuit in the District of Columbia, when the personal representative also filed a wrongful death action in Maryland against them, which involves the same case facts and alleged negligence. We affirm.
Statement of Facts
Elizabeth Ferguson died at D.C. General Hospital on June 2, 1997. For many years and until her death, she maintained a residence at 1706 T Street, NW, Washington, D.C. During the last year of her life, from July 1, 1996 to May 21, 1997, Ms. Ferguson resided at Medlantic Manor, a nursing home licensed to provide non-acute in-patient care in Silver Spring, Maryland. Appellant Medlantic Long Term Care Corporation ("MLTC"), which operates Medlantic Manor, is authorized to do business in the District of Columbia and operates a nursing home in the District as well as in Maryland. Appellant Medlantic Healthcare Group ("MHCG"), the shareholder and parent company of MLTC, is a Delaware corporation, with its corporate headquarters in the District of Columbia.
The complaint alleges that Ferguson was admitted to Medlantic Manor with a medical history of "a cerebrovascular accident [stroke] with left hemiparesis [paralysis on one side] and mental changes, diabetes mellitis [sugar diabetes], hypertension, and hyperthyroidism." The complaint further alleges she also had "a slight left knee flexure contracture [abnormal permanent shortening or withering of a muscle] and complete range of motion in her other three extremities, and was void of decubitus ulcers [bed sores] or other skin lesions."
On May 22, 1997, after eleven months at Medlantic Manor, Ms. Ferguson was removed from the Maryland Nursing Home. The complaint alleges that, at that time, she had "profound flexion contractures of all four extremities and multiple, large, grade IV decubitus ulcers." Ms. Ferguson died eleven days later in the District of Columbia from septic shock [a severe infection causing drop in blood pressure] and metabolic acidosis [abnormally low bicarbonate in the body through deprivation or loss of fluids (e.g., through diarrhea, vomiting)], secondary to decubitus ulcers.
A petition for probate was filed with the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, and on February 26, 1998, Helen Smith was appointed personal representative of the estate of Elizabeth Ferguson. She filed a wrongful death action on behalf of Ms. Ferguson's two dependent grandchildren in Maryland and this survival action on behalf of the Estate in Superior Court. Analysis
The authority to dismiss a case for forum non conveniens "in the interest of substantial justice" is conferred by statute. See D.C. Code ยง 13-425 (2001). The decision whether to dismiss an action for forum non convenien
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