Quintanilla v. Coral Gables Hospital, Inc., 3D05-1787.
| Decision Date | 01 November 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 3D05-1787.,3D05-1787. |
| Citation | 941 So.2d 468 |
| Parties | Felix QUINTANILLA, Appellant, v. CORAL GABLES HOSPITAL, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Feiler, Leach & McCarron and Martin E. Leach, Coral Gables, for appellant.
Schell, Mitchel & Cooley and Howard L. Citron, for appellee.
Before GREEN, SUAREZ, and LAGOA, JJ.
Felix Quintanilla appeals from the entry of a final summary judgment in favor of Coral Gables Hospital, Inc., d/b/a Coral Gables Hospital, finding that Quintanilla's negligence claim against Coral Gables Hospital is a medical malpractice claim, that Quintanilla's failure to comply with the pre-suit notice and investigation requirements of the medical malpractice act required dismissal of the case, with prejudice, and that Quintanilla is now time-barred from bringing this action. We reverse.
Quintanilla was admitted as a patient to Coral Gables Hospital in September, 2002, complaining of a cough, shortness of breath, bronchitis and nasal congestion. On October 1, 2002, he requested hot tea from the nurse who spilled it on Quintanilla while serving it to him resulting in burns on his legs and thigh. Quintanilla filed a simple negligence complaint against Coral Gables Hospital on October 19, 2004, alleging that the nurse, acting in the course and scope of her duty as an employee of Coral Gables Hospital, caused his injury by negligently spilling scalding hot tea on him, negligently failing to use reasonable precaution to prevent the hot tea from being spilled, and negligently brewing and storing the tea to such a temperature that it was unreasonably dangerous if spilled. Coral Gables Hospital answered and, as an affirmative defense, alleged that Quintanilla failed to comply with the pre-suit requirements under section 766.106, Florida Statutes (2002), by failing to file a notice of intent to initiate litigation with the hospital and by failing to have his claim corroborated by a medical expert as required by the statute.
Coral Gables Hospital filed its motion for summary judgment claiming that the serving of hot tea was the rendering of a medical service. Therefore, Quintanilla was required to comply with the pre-suit requirements of section 766.106, had not done so, and the statute of limitations had now run barring compliance. Coral Gables Hospital filed the affidavit of Maria De Los Santos, A.R.N.P., basically stating that it was her opinion that hot tea was a treatment modality for the cough associated with respiratory distress, and that the serving of food, fluids and other dietary and nutritional items, including hot tea, is part and parcel of medical care provided by the hospital staff to patients including Mr. Quintanilla. The trial court agreed that the claim was a claim for medical malpractice and entered final summary judgment which was timely appealed by Quintanilla.
Section 766.106(1)(a), defines a claim for medical negligence or medical malpractice as "a claim arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services." Not every wrongful act by a medical provider is medical malpractice. See Stackhouse v. Emerson, 611 So.2d 1365 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). To be a malpractice claim, a wrongful act must be directly related to the improper application of medical services and the use of professional judgment or skill. Lynn v. Mount Sinai Med. Ctr., Inc., 692 So.2d 1002, 1003 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). The injury must be a direct result of receiving medical care or treatment by the healthcare provider. Goldman v. Halifax Med. Ctr., Inc., 662 So.2d 367, 371 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). In order to determine whether the pre-suit requirement of chapter 766 applies, the question is whether the plaintiff must rely upon the medical negligence standard of care, as set forth in section 766.102(1), Florida Statutes (2005),1 in order to succeed in the plaintiff's case. Integrated Health Care Servs., Inc. v. Lang-Redway, 840 So.2d 974, 980 (Fla.2002).
Coral Gables Hospital argues that because the nurse used her medical judgment to agree to give Quintanilla the hot tea he requested for his cough, the actual act of serving the hot tea amounts to a medical service pursuant to section 766.106(1)(a). We disagree. This is simply a claim that arises out of the act of serving a cup of hot tea. This is not a claim that arises out of the nurse's medical judgment in giving Quintanilla the hot tea. The process of serving tea did not involve medical skill or judgment. The injury is not a direct result of receiving medical...
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