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Henry v. West Monroe Guest House3/2/2005
Plaintiffs, the surviving children of Vanna Henry, brought an action in state district court, naming as defendants West Monroe Guest House, Inc., and PHM Corporation. The petition alleges that defendants owned, operated, and/or controlled the West Monroe Guest House in West Monroe, Louisiana. The petition seeks damages for violations of Vanna Henry's rights as a nursing home resident. Defendants filed exceptions, including one of prematurity, alleging that the action was covered under the Medical Malpractice Act ("MMA") which required that plaintiffs must first present the claim to a medical review panel before filing suit in district court. The trial court granted the exception. We reverse in part and remand.
Facts
Vanna Henry was a resident of West Monroe Guest House from July 21, 1999, through her death on May 27, 2003. She was 99 years old at her death. Plaintiffs alleged that during this time, Ms. Henry suffered numerous indignities and injuries as a result of the custodial care provided by defendants. Specifically, that she was left to lie in her own urine and feces until it dried to her body, causing her to suffer physical and emotional trauma, including dehydration, malnutrition, contractures, bed sores (decubitus ulcers/pressure sores), and death. Plaintiffs also alleged that this lack of care caused Ms. Henry to lose personal dignity. Plaintiffs claimed that some of defendant's alleged failures and wrongdoings were in violation of La. R.S. 40:2010.9(A), the Nursing Home Resident's Bill of Rights ("NHRBR"). Plaintiffs requested attorney fees and all other relief allowed by law, and asserted a claim for survival action pursuant to La. C.C. art. 2315.1.
Defendants filed dilatory exceptions of prematurity, vagueness and lack of procedural capacity. In the exception of prematurity, defendants asserted that West Monroe Guest House is a qualified health care provider under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, La. R.S. 40:1299.41 et seq. Defendants claimed that plaintiffs' cause of action was one of medical malpractice as defined by the MMA and that these allegations should first be brought before a medical review panel.
The trial court granted defendants' exceptions of prematurity. Plaintiffs have appealed.
Discussion
The dilatory exception of prematurity is the proper procedural mechanism for a qualified health care provider to invoke when a medical malpractice plaintiff has failed to submit the claim to a medical review panel before filing suit against the provider. Spradlin v. Acadia - St. Landry Medical Foundation, 98-1977 (La. 02/29/00), 758 So. 2d 116. Accordingly, a claim against a private qualified health care provider is subject to dismissal on a timely filed exception of prematurity if such claim has not first been screened by a pre-suit medical review panel. Id. Nursing homes are defined as "hospitals" for the purposes of falling under the ambit of the MMA. La. R.S. 40:1299.41A(4).
Plaintiffs dispute that all of their claims, as alleged in the original and two amended petitions, lie in medical malpractice. Instead, they contend that some of their claims arise out of violations of Vanna Henry's rights under the NHRBR. Plaintiffs claim that these rights were violated when Ms. Henry was left to lie in her own human waste for extended periods of time on a daily basis. Plaintiffs admit that their other claims are for medical malpractice and that, as to those claims, they have initiated a separate proceeding with a medical review panel.
Several cases in Louisiana have discussed the fine line between MMA claims and NHRBR claims. In Richard v. Louisiana Extended Care Centers, Inc., 02-0978 (La. 01/14/
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