Pryce v. Rhodes, No. A12A0175.

• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: BLACKWELL
• Citation: 12 FCDR 2233,729 S.E.2d 641,316 Ga.App. 523
• Parties: PRYCE v. RHODES et al.
• Docket Number: No. A12A0175.
• Decision Date: 29 June 2012

316 Ga.App. 523
729 S.E.2d 641
12 FCDR 2233

PRYCE
v.
RHODES et al.

No. A12A0175.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

June 29, 2012.

Laura M. Shamp, Atlanta, for Appellant.

Richard Jay Baker, Atlanta, for Appellee.

BLACKWELL, Judge.

[316 Ga.App. 523]Shah–Haan Pryce filed a medical malpractice complaint in Cobb County against Dr. Tampa Rhodes and her professional corporation, Providence Family Dentistry (collectively “Dr. Rhodes”). Dr. Rhodes moved for judgment on the pleadings, and the trial court granted her motion after finding that Pryce failed to file his complaint within the two-year period of limitation for medical malpractice claims pursuant to OCGA § 9–3–71(a). Pryce appeals, claiming that the court below should have found that the period of limitation was tolled because Dr. Rhodes concealed the cause of his injury. We find no error and affirm.

A motion for judgment on the pleadings should be granted only if the moving party is clearly entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Sherman v. Fulton County Bd. of Assessors, 288 Ga. 88, 90, 701 S.E.2d 472 (2010). When we review the grant of a motion for judgment on the pleadings, we owe no deference to the decision of the court below. Jenkins v. Wachovia Bank, 314 Ga.App. 257, 724 S.E.2d 1 (2012). And, like the court below, we must accept the truth of the factual allegations contained in the pleadings

[729 S.E.2d 642]

of the nonmoving party, and we view the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Ford v. Whipple, 225 Ga.App. 276, 277, 483 S.E.2d 591 (1997).

So viewed, the pleadings show that Pryce visited Dr. Rhodes for routine fillings in January 2007. During the course of the procedure, Dr. Rhodes attempted to inject anesthetic into Pryce's right cheek. In doing so, the needle either “detached, or broke off at the hub,” and it became lodged in Pryce's cheek. Dr. Rhodes immediately attempted to remove the needle,¹ but she was unsuccessful, and she referred Pryce to an oral surgeon. Later that day, Pryce went to the offices of the oral surgeon, who is identified in the record only as “Dr. Treadway.” Dr. Treadway unsuccessfully attempted to remove the needle from Pryce's cheek, and he suggested that Pryce seek a CT scan at Crawford Long Hospital. Some hours later, doctors at Crawford Long performed a CT scan, located the needle, and urged Pryce to have surgery to remove it. About a week later, Pryce underwent an “extensive,” but unsuccessful, surgery at Cobb Wellstar Hospital, which caused him to remain hospitalized for four days.

[316 Ga.App. 524]In February of the same year, Pryce visited several doctors about the needle, and in June of that year, a CT scan showed that the needle was dangerously close to two of Pryce's major blood vessels. Two months later, in August 2007, doctors at Emory University Hospital, with the help of CT imaging, attempted to remove the needle, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. Pryce has...