Moore v. Louis Smith Memorial Hosp., Inc.
| Citation | 454 S.E.2d 190,216 Ga.App. 299 |
| Parties | MOORE v. LOUIS SMITH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC. A94A2051. |
| Decision Date | 14 February 1995 |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
John M. Cullum, Savannah, for appellant.
Tillman, McTier, Coleman, Talley, Newbern & Kurrie, Wade H. Coleman, Edward F. Preston, Valdosta, for appellee.
Plaintiff is an elderly resident of defendant nursing home. Plaintiff was injured on May 22, 1991, when her foot became caught in a bed rail while a nursing assistant employed by defendant was helping plaintiff get into bed. Plaintiff filed suit against defendant on May 27, 1993, seeking damages for the injuries she suffered in 1991. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that plaintiff's action was barred by the two-year statute of limitation applicable to actions for medical malpractice. OCGA § 9-3-71. The trial court granted defendant's motion, and plaintiff filed the present appeal to this court.
Plaintiff contends the trial court erred in granting defendant's motion because her complaint did not allege medical malpractice but instead sought recovery against defendant based upon ordinary negligence and breach of contract. Moreover, she contends, the two year statute of limitation on her negligence claim was tolled by her mental incompetency, and the statute of limitation with respect to her contract claim is four rather than two years in any case. Defendant argues that under OCGA § 9-3-70(2), any claim for damages arising out of the "[c]are or service rendered by any public or private hospital, nursing home, clinic, hospital authority, facility or institution, ..." is defined as an action for medical malpractice, and that because the periods of limitation applicable to medical malpractice actions are not tolled by mental incompetency, see OCGA § 9-3-73(b) and Kumar v. Hall, 262 Ga. 639, 423 S.E.2d 653 (1992), the trial court properly granted summary judgment in this case.
We reject defendant's argument that any cause of action arising out of care provided by a health care facility is automatically one for medical malpractice. Not all injuries that occur in a hospital, nursing home or other health care facility are the result of professional negligence; they may be solely attributable to ordinary or simple negligence. See Self v. Exec. Comm. etc., 245 Ga. 548, 266 S.E.2d 168 (1980). For that reason, our appellate courts have consistently looked to the claim stated rather than the entity or person sued when determining whether an action is for professional malpractice or ordinary negligence. Candler Gen....
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