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Mobley v. Hirschberg11/2/2005
Shawanni Mobley appeals a final summary judgment in favor of the defendant below, Dr. Gilbert E. Hirschberg, on her claim for personal injuries. The basis for the ruling was that Mobley failed to comply with the medical malpractice presuit procedures. See § 766.106, Fla. Stat. (2004). We reverse because Mobley's simple negligence claim did not arise out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services.
Summary judgment is proper "only when there are no genuine issues of material fact conclusively shown from the record and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. All doubts and inferences must be resolved against the moving party, and if there is the slightest doubt or conflict in the evidence, then summary judgment is not available." Shreffler v. Philippon, 873 So. 2d 1280, 1281 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (quoting Reeves v. N. Broward Hosp. Dist., 821 So. 2d 319, 321 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)) (citation omitted). The standard of review of an order granting summary judgment is de novo. See Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000).
Mobley was a patient of Dr. Hirschberg, a dentist. The doctor instructed a dental assistant to x-ray Mobley's mouth. Mobley was seated in a dental chair and a protective blanket was placed over her. The x-ray machine was attached to the ceiling off to the side of the chair. Mobley rested her head against the headrest as the dental assistant moved the x-ray machine toward Mobley's mouth.
The positioning arm of the x-ray machine jammed. When the dental assistant pulled at the arm to dislodge it, the machine struck Mobley in the face, causing injuries.
Mobley sued for simple negligence. Hirschberg raised the affirmative defense that Mobley failed to comply with the presuit requirements of section 766.106. The trial court granted the dentist's motion for summary judgment, ruling that the case was a medical malpractice case where the patient was injured during the course of treatment.
Section 766.106 imposes presuit requirements on a claim for medical negligence or malpractice. Such a claim is one "arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services." See Burke v. Snyder, 899 So. 2d 336, 338 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (citing J.B. v. Sacred Heart Hosp. of Pensacola, 635 So. 2d 945, 949 (Fla. 1994)); § 766.106(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2004). Claims of simple negligence or intentional torts which do not involve the provision of medical care or services do not require compliance with Chapter 766 presuit requirements. See Lake Shore Hosp. v. Clarke, 768 So. 2d 1251 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) (court held that patient's negligence claim arising from a slip and fall between her hospital bed and bathroom was not a cause of action for medical negligence subject to presuit requirements); Garcia v. Psychiatric Insts. of Am., Inc., 693 So. 2d 66 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 700 So. 2d 687 (1997).
Mobley's claim that she was negligently banged in the face with a piece of equipment involves a simple negligence claim independent of the standard of care imposed on a health care provider. Deciding how to unstick the arm of the x-ray machine was not a medical service requiring the use of a medical professional's judgment or skill.
Reeves v. North Broward Hospital District, 821 So. 2d 319 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), addressed the distinction between simple negligence and medical malpractice within the context of a claim that Chapter 766 applied. We wrote that "not every alleged wrongful act by a healthcare provider, or its employee, amounts to medical malpractice. The alleged wrongful act must be directly related to the improper application of medical s
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