Woman may get another day in court for med negligence suit

[okarol]

Shelby woman may get another day in court for med negligence suit

By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • April 11, 2009

MANSFIELD -- An Ohio Supreme Court ruling issued this week sends a lawsuit against Bio-Medical Application of Ohio back to Richland County Common Pleas Court.
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The suit was originally brought by the estate of Donald R. Stevic against Bio-Medical, which works through FMC Dialysis Services in Mansfield.

In October 2003, Stevic was injured in a fall at the Richland County Kidney Dialysis Center. According to court documents, the accident occurred while he was being transferred from his wheelchair to the dialysis machine by staff members using a Hoyer Lift apparatus. Stevic suffered a fractured hip, bruises and other injuries. He died several months later.

In October 2005, nearly two years after the fall, his widow, Betty Stevic, of Buckeye Drive, Shelby, filed suit in Richland County Common Pleas Court against Bio-Medical and unnamed employees, alleging negligence and seeking damages.

The company said because Stevic's claims against it arose in the course of medical treatment, his widow was subject to the one-year statute of limitations for filing medical claims, which the state Legislature adopted in April 2003.

The local court agreed and dismissed Stevic's suit.

However, the Fifth District Court of Appeals reversed the decision, remanding the case back to Common Pleas for further proceedings.

Appeals judges decided it was unclear if the Bio-Medical dialysis center qualified as one of the types of listed facilities, or if the employees operating the lift fell under any of the categories of medical professionals listed in the statute.

Based on that, the 5th District held that the trial court erred in finding that Stevic's suit unambiguously qualified as a medical claim.

The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Wednesday the one-year time limit for filing medical claims applies only to lawsuits filed against a practitioner or certain health care facilities, affirming the appeals court's decision.

Writing for a unanimous court, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Cupp stated the term "medical claim" has two components under state law: the claim is asserted against one or more of the specifically listed medical providers, and it arises out of medical diagnosis, care, or treatment.

Because the widow's complaint didn't clearly indicate if her claims were asserted against medical providers specifically listed in state law, the trial court's judgment in favor of Bio-Medical was "premature." The local court should conduct further proceedings to determine whether the complaint is a medical claim, Cupp wrote.

Shelby attorneys Jeffrey S. Ream and Frank L. Benham argued for the Stevics. Cleveland attorneys Jeffrey Van Wagner and Jane F. Warner represented Bio-Medical.

lmartz@nncogannett.com
419-521-7229

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20090411/NEWS01/904110318/1002/rss01