Golden v. Floyd Healthcare Mgmt., Inc.

• Docket Number: A23A0118, A23A0119
• Decision Date: 27 June 2023
• Citation: 368 Ga.App. 409,890 S.E.2d 288
• Parties: GOLDEN v. FLOYD HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT, INC. d/b/a Floyd Medical Center. Floyd Healthcare Management, Inc. d/b/a Floyd Medical Center v. Golden.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

368 Ga.App. 409

890 S.E.2d 288

GOLDEN v. FLOYD HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT, INC. d/b/a Floyd Medical Center.

Floyd Healthcare Management, Inc. d/b/a Floyd Medical Center v. Golden.

A23A0118, A23A0119

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

June 27, 2023

Michael Regas, William Sims Stone, Michael Brian Terry, Ryals Drayton Stone, Atlanta, C. Sutton Connelly, for Appellant in A23A0118.

Julius Winfrey Peek Jr., Jason Bradley Sanker, Robert Thomas Monroe, Benjamin P. Stell, Rome, for Appellee in A23A0118.

Julius Winfrey Peek Jr., Jason Bradley Sanker, Robert Thomas Monroe, Benjamin P. Stell, Rome, for Appellant in A23A0119.

Michael Regas, William Sims Stone, Michael Brian Terry, Ryals Drayton Stone, Atlanta, C. Sutton Connelly, for Appellee in A23A0119.

Hodges, Judge.

In this medical malpractice renewal action, Jami Lynn Golden sued Floyd Healthcare Management, Inc., d/b/a Floyd Medical Center ("Floyd Medical") and Floyd Emergency Physicians, LLC("Floyd Physicians")(collectively, "the defendants") for "medical and hospital negligence"("Count 1") and ordinary negligence ("Count 2") arising from injuries she sustained due to an alleged failure to properly diagnose sepsis.Floyd Medical moved to dismiss Golden's renewal action, arguing that Golden's claim for ordinary negligence in Count 2 asserted a new claim not brought in the original action, that the renewal action was barred by the five-year statute of repose for medical malpractice actions, and that the renewal action was barred by Golden's failure to comply with the conditions set forth in the order granting her motion to voluntarily dismiss her original action in federal court.¹The Superior Court of Floyd County granted Floyd Medical's motion to dismiss as to Golden's claim for ordinary negligence in Count 2, but denied the motion as to Golden's alleged failure to satisfy any conditions imposed in her voluntary dismissal order and found that her claims of professional negligence were not precluded by the five-year medical malpractice statute of repose, effectively concluding that COVID-19 emergency orders issued by then-Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Melton tolled the statute of repose.

We granted both parties’ motions for interlocutory appeal and have consolidated these cases for decision.In Case No. A22A0118, Golden appeals that part of the trial court's order dismissing her claim for ordinary negligence in Count 2, arguing that the claim was the same as that raised in her original action and, seemingly alternatively, that the actions of charge nurse Sharon Gaylor constituted ordinary, rather than professional, negligence in support of her assertion that the causes of action were the same.In Case No. A22A0119, Floyd Medical appeals that part of the trial court's order denying its motion to dismiss Golden's renewal action in its entirety due to her failure to satisfy certain requirements imposed in the order granting her voluntary dismissal of the original action and because her claims are barred by the medical malpractice statute of repose.

For the following reasons, we first conclude that Count 2 of Golden's renewal action, regardless of whether it is labeled ordinary or professional negligence, presented a new claim not raised in the original action; as a result, we conclude that Count 2 is barred by the two-year statute of limitation for personal injuries.²We next hold that Golden's claim against Floyd Medical in Count 1, which is based upon new factual allegations arising from Gaylor's acts or omissions, asserted a new claim which was not part of the original action, and it is likewise precluded.Finally, we conclude that Golden's remaining claims against Floyd Medical in Count 1 of the renewal action, grounded in allegations against the attending physician, physician's assistant, and nurse practitioner, are barred by the five-year medical malpractice statute of repose.Therefore, we affirm in part and reverse in part the trial court's order, and we remand this case with instruction to dismiss Golden's renewal action.³

Our standard of review is well settled.

On appeal, we review the grant of any motion to dismiss de novo, and a motion to dismiss should not be granted unless the allegations of the complaint disclose with certainty that the claimant would not be entitled to relief under any state of provable facts asserted in support thereof.We construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the plaintiff with any doubts resolved in the plaintiff's favor.

(Citation and punctuation omitted.)Manzanares v. City of Brookhaven , 352 Ga. App. 293, 834 S.E.2d 358(2019).So viewed, the record indicates that Golden worked as a summer 2016 camp counselor at Camp WinShape on the Berry College campus.Golden visited Floyd Emergency Care Center at approximately 8:30 p.m. on July 1, 2016, complaining of abdominal pain, fever, chills, and nausea.Among other readings taken during Golden's triage assessment, medical staff noted that she had a low-grade fever, a heart rate of 118 beats per minute, a white blood cell count of 4.9, and bands of 15 percent.⁴

As a result of these readings, Golden alleged that she satisfied two general internal criteria of " systemic inflammatory response syndrome"(or, SIRS) to be monitored for sepsis — an elevated heart rate and bands in excess of 10 percent.

A nurse practitioner initially suggested that Golden was suffering from an ovarian cyst or endometriosis and administered saline fluid and medications to control her pain.At approximately 2:00 a.m. on July 2, "a computer generated Sepsis Alert concerning ... Golden activated based on an algorithm that interpreted her vital signs and lab results as being at risk for sepsis[.]"Golden alleged that Gaylor, the charge nurse on duty at the time of the sepsis alert, failed to forward the alert to the attending physician on duty and the primary nurse assigned to Golden, in violation of Floyd Medical's written sepsis alert policy.Golden was prescribed additional pain medication and discharged approximately one hour after the sepsis alert, with instructions to follow up in two to three days.

Golden's symptoms persisted and her condition worsened throughout the day, including the onset of additional symptoms of a sore throat, headache, dizziness, and shortness of breath.At approximately 4:00 p.m. on July 2, an ambulance transported Golden, by then in septic shock, to Redmond Regional Emergency Care Center for treatment.Medical staff initiated Redmond Regional's sepsis protocol, administered extensive treatment of Golden, and admitted Golden to the Redmond Regional Medical Center Intensive Care Unit.Golden remained in Redmond Regional's ICU for 11 days before transferring to University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center for further treatment.As a result of the septic shock, Golden suffered necrosis that required the amputation of parts of her fingers and toes.

A review of the ensuing litigation is necessary to our decision in these cases.

Golden's Original Action in Federal Court.On June 30, 2018, Golden filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Floyd Medical, Floyd Physicians, the attending physician, a physician's assistant, and the nurse practitioner who treated Golden while she was a patient at Floyd Medical.Golden's complaint asserted claims for medical and hospital negligence, abandonment, and violations of the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, 42 U. S. C. § 1395 (dd) et seq.The parties actively litigated the federal case for more than two years, with the district court granting at least two discovery extensions, the latest discovery extension expiring on November 2, 2020.

On that last day of the extended discovery period, "just minutes before the close of discovery[,]" Golden filed two expert reports and named more than 40 of her treating physicians as experts who might be called to testify.Ten days following the close of discovery on November 2, 2020, Golden moved to amend her complaint to assert a claim that Floyd Medical was vicariously liable for the negligence or gross negligence of Gaylor, the charge nurse who allegedly failed to forward the sepsis alert to the attending physician on duty.⁵Floyd Medical and Floyd Physicians moved to strike Golden's expert disclosures as well as her expert reports.On June 25, 2021, the district court granted the motion to strike⁶ and, two days later, Golden moved to voluntarily dismiss her complaint without prejudice.Floyd Medical and Floyd Physicians objected to the proposed dismissal and filed motions for summary judgment on June 28, 2021, asserting that, in the absence of expert testimony, Golden could not prevail on her claims as a matter of law.

In an order entered August 30, 2021, the district court granted Golden's motion for voluntary dismissal and denied as moot her motion to amend and the defendants’ motions for summary judgment.The district court also ordered that "all discovery from this case be incorporated into any subsequent action on the same claims and facts to preserve the usefulness of that discovery and allow for an expedited discovery and motion schedule in any later action."(Emphasis supplied.)

Golden's Renewal Action in State Court.On October 21, 2021, Golden filed a renewal action in the Superior Court of Floyd County against Floyd Medical and Floyd Physicians.The renewal action asserted two claims: (1)"medical and hospital negligence"("Count 1")⁷ ; and (2) ordinary negligence ("Count 2").In support of these claims, Golden alleged, inter alia, that the defendants were vicariously liable for the negligence of the nurse practitioner and physician's assistant who treated her, the attending physician charged with supervising those individuals, and Gaylor, the charge nurse who allegedly failed to forward the sepsis test results as required.Alternatively, the complaint asserted that the negligence of...