Ziglar v. St. joseph’s/candler Health System, Inc.

THIRD DIVISION
ANDREWS, MCMILLIAN
and RICKMAN, JJ.
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed.
http://www.gaappeals.us/rules
May 12, 2017
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
A17A0214. ZIGLAR v. ST. JOSEPH’S/CANDLER HEALTH
SYSTEM, INC.
MCMILLIAN, Judge.
Appellant Jason Keith Ziglar appeals following dismissal of his complaint for
failure to file a sufficient expert affidavit pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-9.1. As more
fully set forth below, we now affirm.
“A motion to dismiss based upon the lack of [a sufficient] expert affidavit is
a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under OCGA § 9-11-12 (b) (6).”
(Citation and punctuation omitted.) Brown v. Tift Health Care, Inc., 279 Ga. App.
164, 165 (630 SE2d 788) (2006). “We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to
dismiss de novo, viewing all well-pled allegations in the complaint as true.” (Citation
omitted.) Hobbs v. Great Expressions Dental Centers of Ga., 337 Ga. App. 248, 248
(786 SE2d 897) (2016). So viewed, the sixteen-paragraph complaint alleges that
Ziglar was admitted to St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, Inc. (“Hospital”) in
December 2013. Ziglar, who was unconscious at the time of his admission, developed
a Stage IV sacral ulcer during his stay. Ziglar filed a negligence action, contending
that the Hospital, nurses and support staff, for whose negligence the Hospital was
vicariously liable through theories of agency and respondeat superior, had failed to
properly assess and treat the ulcer and had failed to appropriately advocate for his
care while he was unconscious. As required by OCGA § 9-11-9.1 in professional
negligence actions, Ziglar attached the affidavit of nurse Sandra D. Copeland to his
complaint. The Hospital answered and filed a motion to dismiss on the basis that
Copeland’s affidavit did not meet the requirements of OCGA § 9-11-9.1. The trial
court granted the Hospital’s motion based solely on the failure to file a sufficient
Section 9-11-9.1 affidavit, and Ziglar filed this appeal.
Pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-9.1 (a), plaintiffs who file professional negligence
claims against “(1) [a] professional licensed by the State of Georgia and listed in
subsection (g) of this Code section; [or] (3) [a]ny licensed health care facility alleged
to be liable based upon the action or inaction of a health care professional licensed
by the State of Georgia and listed in subsection (g) of this Code section,” must file
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an expert affidavit with their complaint. Further, the statute also plainly provides that
the expert’s “affidavit shall set forth specifically at least one negligent act or
omission claimed to exist and the factual basis for each such claim.” (Emphasis
supplied.) OCGA § 9-11-9.1 (a) (3).
In pertinent parts, Copeland’s affidavit contained the following averments:
“Based on my review of the above-described medical records, it is my
opinion within a reasonable degree of medical probability that the staff
of St. Joseph’s Hospital failed to exercise the standard of care and
degree of skill possessed, exercised and employed by the medical
profession generally and nurses and support staff with regard to nursing
care of patients in medical facilities especially, under similar conditions
and like circumstances, by negligently failing to: (1) properly assess and
treat Jason Keith Ziglar’s wounds; and (2) appropriately advocate for an
unconscious patient to ensure that said patient received the monitoring
and treatment required.”
The Hospital contends this affidavit was fatally defective because: 1) it fails
to set forth at least one negligent act or omission claimed to exist; 2) it fails to set
forth any factual basis for such a claim against the defendant; and 3) even assuming
plaintiff’s expert, a nurse, was competent to testify as to the standard of care of the
Hospital’s nurses, she is not competent to testify about the standard of care of the
Hospital’s unidentified “support staff” under OCGA § 24-7-702.
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Our law is clear that “[a]n affidavit under OCGA § 9-11-9.1 which does not
state specifically at least one negligent act or omission is fatally defective.” (Citation
omitted.) Edwards v. Vanstrom, 206 Ga. App. 21, 22 (1) (424 SE2d 326) (1992).
Here, the affidavit recites only generally that the nurses and staff at the Hospital
failed to appropriately treat, assess, and advocate for Ziglar while he was a patient
there, and does not contain any specific instances of any of those alleged failures.
Moreover, even assuming the general assertions of “failure to assess or treat” were
sufficient to state an act or omission of negligence, the affidavit also failed to set out
a sufficient factual basis to support such a negligent act or omission. Cf. Crook v.
Funk, 214 Ga. App. 213, 214 (1) (447 SE2d 60) (1994) (doctor’s affidavit sufficient
under facts set out in the affidavit). In this regard, the affidavit referred to the medical
records but did not attach them, and as to facts otherwise recited only that
“[b]eginning in December of 2013, . . . Ziglar was an unconscious patient that was at
high risk for the development of pressure ulcers” and “[d]espite the fact that the staff
of [the Hospital] knew or should have known of the high risk of pressure ulcers, . .
. Ziglar developed a Stage IV sacral ulcer.” These are not the type of underlying facts
sufficient to support claims of professional negligence for purposes of the Section 9-
11-9.1 affidavit. Accordingly, even construing the affidavit in Ziglar’s favor, we find
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that the affidavit here was insufficient on its face to satisfy the requirements of
OCGA § 9-11-9.1.
Ziglar argues, however, that his complaint also set out a claim for simple
negligence acts by the nonprofessional Hospital support staff for which he did not
need a OCGA § 9-11-9.1 affidavit.1 Carter v. VistaCare, LLC, 335 Ga. App. 616, 621
(3) (782 SE2d 678) (2016) (requirement of attaching a Section 9-11-9.1 affidavit does
not apply to claims of ordinary negligence); Padgett v. Baxley and Appling County
Hosp. Auth., 321 Ga. App. 66, 71 (2) (741 SE2d 193) (2013) (physical precedent
only) (CNA is not one of the professionals listed in OCGA § 9-11-9.1 or similar code
sections, and expert affidavit not required). It is true that Ziglar’s complaint recites
that “[t]his action is one for professional negligence, simple negligence and
malpractice.” But, as Ziglar acknowledges, we are not bound by his characterization
of his claims, and instead must review the complaint de novo to discover the nature
of Ziglar’s claims. “Whether a complaint alleges ordinary negligence or professional
malpractice is a question of law for the court.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.)
Carter, 335 Ga. App. at 621 (3).
1
The Hospital sought dismissal only on the basis that the OCGA § 9-11-9.1
affidavit was insufficient.
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When assessing whether the complaint alleges ordinary negligence, we
must liberally construe the allegations of the complaint and only
conclude that ordinary negligence has not been alleged if it is foreclosed
by the complaint itself[.] In determining, as a matter of law, whether the
complaint alleged claims based on ordinary negligence, professional
negligence, or both, . . . we look solely to the allegations of the
complaint and liberally construe the allegations to state a claim if, within
the framework of the complaint, the plaintiff may introduce evidence
which will sustain a grant of relief based on the claim. We will conclude
that the complaint does not allege a claim only if the allegations of the
complaint disclose with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled
to relief on the claim under any state of provable facts. (Citations and
punctuation omitted.) Health Mgmt. Assoc. v. Bazemore, 286 Ga. App.
285 (648 SE2d 749) (2007).
Chandler v. Opensided MRI of Atlanta, LLC, 299 Ga. App. 145, 146-47 (1) (682
SE2d 165) (2009).
Ziglar set out two basic claims in the complaint – that the Hospital and its
employees, specifically its nurses and support staff, failed to properly treat and assess
Ziglar’s wounds and the Hospital failed to ensure that, as an unconscious patient, he
received the required level of monitoring and treatment, which would logically
include detecting the development of ulcers caused by a prolonged bed stay.
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“Failure to adequately monitor for injuries and failure to assure proper medical
care are analogous to claims previously held to fall within the realm of professional
medical decision making.” Brown, 279 Ga. App. at 167. Ziglar alleged negligence
based on the failure of the Hospital’s nurses and unspecified staff to take the
appropriate steps to ensure that he, as an unconscious patient, did not develop a
pressure ulcer while confined to his hospital bed and to appropriately treat it once
they discovered it. Clearly, just what these steps are and what should have been done
to prevent the development of the ulcer would require “highly specialized expert
knowledge with respect to which a layman can have no knowledge at all, and the
court and jury must be dependent on expert advice.” (Citation and punctuation
omitted.) Brown, 279 Ga. App. at 166-67; see also Hendrix v. Fulton DeKalb Hosp.
Auth., 330 Ga. App. 833 (769 SE2d 575) (2015) (physical precedent only) (medical
malpractice case involving pressure sores). Likewise, a “medical judgment” clearly
would be involved in assessing the severity of the ulcer and prescribing a course of
treatment. “‘Medical judgments’ are ‘decisions which normally require the evaluation
of the medical condition of a particular patient and, therefore, the application of
professional knowledge, skill, and experience.’ Dent v. Mem. Hosp. of Adel, 270 Ga.
316, 318 (509 SE2d 908) (1998).” James v. Hosp. Auth. of the City of Bainbridge,
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278 Ga. App. 657, 659 (629 SE2d 472) (2006). Here, Ziglar alleged his claims in
terms of medical negligence, referring to a failure to exercise or a deviation from
acceptable standards of medical care. Thus, even construing the allegations of his
complaint broadly in his favor, we conclude that the entirety of Ziglar’s claims fall
within the realm of professional negligence and therefore were properly dismissed for
want of a sufficient OCGA § 9-11-9.1 affidavit.
Judgment affirmed. Andrews and Rickman, JJ., concur.
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