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In re Reid9/21/1993
This matter came before the Court upon the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board and Hearing Committee to publicly censure Charles H. Reid for incompetence, neglect, and failure to adequately communicate with his client. The Court agrees that it is appropriate for Reid to be publicly censured for his conduct.
In July 1983, Reid was retained by Nick Bakas to pursue a medical malpractice suit for the death of his father, Steven Bakas, who died on April 23, 1983, five days after he was released from a nursing home. Nick Bakas believed that the nursing home was negligent in caring for his father and that its negligence caused or contributed to the deterioration of his father's condition and his death.
Reid filed suit against the nursing home on April 18, 1986. During the almost three years before Reid filed suit, he took virtually no action to pursue the case. He did not obtain medical records from the nursing home. The only medical records Reid had were from the hospital where Steven Bakas died; his client obtained those records. Reid did not conduct any investigation into the factual basis of the claim. He did not ascertain the names of the doctors who treated Bakas at the nursing home or the names of the nurses or other staff members who were responsible for his care.
Not until early April of 1986 did Reid research the legal basis for the claim or determine the applicable statute of limitations. Reid had incorrectly assumed for three years that, because Steven Bakas died, the statute of limitations ran from the date of his death. When he finally researched the issue, he discovered that under the applicable statute of limitations, NMSA 1978, Section 41-5-13, the three-year statute ran from the date(s) on which malpractice occurred. Reid quickly prepared a complaint and filed it three years from the day on which Steven Bakas was removed from the nursing home.
After filing suit, Reid delayed another ten months before having the defendant nursing home served. During that time, he still took no action to investigate the factual basis of the case, determine the identity of potential witnesses, or obtain medical records from the nursing home.
In April 1987, the defendant nursing home filed a motion to dismiss on the ground, among others, that the statute of limitations had run. The motion was granted and Reid appealed. In October 1987, the New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed and remanded to the district court, holding it was possible for the plaintiff to recover on the basis that the defendant failed to render reasonable care up to the actual hour Bakas was removed from the nursing home. The fact that Reid narrowly escaped missing the statute of limitations does not, of course, indicate that he represented his client diligently or competently.
Six months later, the defendant filed bankruptcy in California. During the six months between remand and the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings, Reid took no
action to pursue the case. He filed no discovery requests; he took no depositions. He did not identify the doctors responsible for Steven Bakas' care at the nursing home.
Reid maintained that he did not pursue the case more aggressively because he was conducting settlement negotiations with the nursing home's insurer and thought the case would settle. By Reid's own testimony, these negotiations consisted of two or three conversations with these representatives before filing suit, and another two or three conversations after suit was filed, but before the defendant was served. Although Reid says he tendered a settlement offer, he concedes no c
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