Wadsworth v. Sharma

• Decision Date: 15 July 2022
• Docket Number: 40, Sept. Term, 2021
• Parties: Scott WADSWORTH, et al. v. Poornima SHARMA, et al.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

479 Md. 606

278 A.3d 1269

Scott WADSWORTH, et al.

v.Poornima SHARMA, et al.

No. 40, Sept. Term, 2021

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 15, 2022

Argued by Brian S. Brown (Christopher T. Casciano and Elisha N. Hawk, Brown & Barron, LLC, Baltimore, MD), on brief, for Petitioners

Argued by Derek M. Stikeleather (Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP, Baltimore, MD; Ronald U. Shaw and Michael A. Damiano, Shaw & Morrow, P.A., Hunt Valley, MD), on brief, for Respondents

Zebulan P. Snyder, Esquire, The Law Office of Zeb Snyder LLC, 9407 Harford Road, Parkville, MD 21234, for Amicus Curiae Maryland Association for Justice

Holly Drumheller Butler, Esquire, Susan DuMont, Esquire, Miles & Stockbridge P.C., 100 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, for Amicus Curiae the Maryland Hospital Association

Mitchell Y. Mirviss, Esquire, Venable LLP, 750 East Pratt Street, Suite 900, Baltimore, MD 21202, for Amici Curiae Medical Mutual Liability Society of Maryland and MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society

Argued before:^* Getty, C.J., *McDonald, Watts, Hotten, Booth, Biran, Glenn T. Harrell, Jr., (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned) JJ.

Getty, C.J.

At common law, a personal action died with the person. Therefore, the moment a person passed away, any cause of action that person could maintain against another could no longer be brought. This common law rule left family members of decedents without recourse for injuries suffered during the decedent's lifetime. To remedy that consequence, state legislatures adopted their own version of a wrongful death statute, often modeled after the Lord Campbell's Act—England's statute modifying the common law rule. In pertinent part, Maryland's Wrongful Death Act, first enacted in 1852, provides that "[a]n action may be maintained against a person whose wrongful act causes the death of another." Md. Code (1974, 2020 Repl. Vol.), Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article ("CJ") § 3-902(a). Generally, spouses, parents, and children of the decedent may bring wrongful death claims. CJ § 3-904(a)(1).

In wrongful death claims, plaintiffs face the challenge to demonstrate that the defendant proximately caused the decedent's death. Therefore, in an attempt to balance perceived inequities that occur under traditional causation principles, some jurisdictions have adopted the loss of chance doctrine. In the medical malpractice context, the loss of chance doctrine allows the plaintiff to recover if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant's negligence caused the loss of chance of a better outcome, including survival. Other jurisdictions, including Maryland, have rejected the doctrine in favor of maintaining well-settled proximate causation principles, thus leaving to the state legislature the decision of whether to alter the proximate causation standard.

In this case, we revisit the loss of chance doctrine. Consistent with the plain language and legislative history of CJ § 3-902(a) and our prior decisions, we hold that the Circuit Court for Baltimore County and the Court of Special Appeals correctly decided Mr. Wadsworth's wrongful death claim because he pleaded a loss of chance case, which is not recognized in Maryland. Accordingly, for the reasons explained below, we affirm the Court of Special Appeals.

BACKGROUND

In 2006, doctors diagnosed Stephanie Wadsworth with Stage IIIC¹ breast cancer

in her left breast. Treatment for Ms. Wadsworth's diagnosis included a left mastectomy

, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Following these treatments, Ms. Wadsworth underwent a series of follow-up PET/CT scans on August 22, 2006, July 18, 2007, and August 28, 2008. Each scan was negative for metastatic disease.

Over four years later, Ms. Wadsworth underwent a new round of diagnostic testing ordered on March 15, 2013 by her oncologist, Poornima Sharma, M.D. This round of testing included laboratory studies, a mammogram

, and a PET/CT scan. Ms. Wadsworth produced an abnormal PET/CT scan on April 1, 2013, depicting a new and potentially cancerous lesion on her clavicle. Dr. Sharma reviewed the scan but did not report the results to Ms. Wadsworth or conduct further testing.²

Three years after her abnormal scan, Ms. Wadsworth fell and injured her right shoulder. Ms. Wadsworth went to the hospital for her shoulder injury, and a bone scan

depicted a malignant bone lesion on her right clavicle. On March 8, 2016, Ms. Wadsworth underwent an open biopsy, which showed that the lesion was "metastatic adenocarcinoma compatible with a breast primary"—i.e., Ms. Wadsworth's left breast cancer metastasized to her clavicle.

Ms. Wadsworth continued treatment but passed away on June 10, 2017. Ms. Wadsworth's survivors were her husband, Scott Wadsworth, their children, Elizabeth and Matthew Wadsworth, and her father, Joseph Eline, Jr. Her husband, Mr. Wadsworth, filed a survival action and wrongful death action in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County against Dr. Sharma, University of Maryland Oncology Associates, P.A. ("UMOA"), University of Maryland Community Medical Group, Inc. ("UMCMG"), and others.³ Ms. Wadsworth's father and children joined the wrongful death action.

Dr. Sharma, UMOA, and UMCMG filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the loss of chance doctrine, the legal theory upon which Mr. Wadsworth's lawsuit is based, is not recognized in Maryland. On October 7, 2019, the circuit court held a hearing regarding the motion for summary judgment, as well as other motions not pertinent to this appeal. Depositions from Dr. James J. Stark and Dr. Andrew M. Schneider were referenced at the hearing. Dr. Schneider stated that "there is no cure once you have metastasis

" and that "the average person like [Ms. Wadsworth] would have lived ... an additional [eighty] months" from the date of the abnormal scan. Dr. Stark did not offer an opinion on whether treating Ms. Wadsworth sooner would have cured her breast cancer. In response to a question of whether metastatic breast cancer is a "death sentence[,]" Dr. Stark answered, "[y]es. I mean, no one today survives metastatic breast cancer, with the possible exception of oligometastatic disease[.]^[4

^]" Relying on depositions from Dr. Stark and Dr. Schneider explaining the severity of metastatic breast cancer

, the circuit court identified that, "[i]t is without dispute that the proximate cause and the actual, sole cause of [Ms. Wadsworth's] death was the metastatic ... breast cancer." Without evidence disputing that Ms. Wadsworth's metastatic breast cancer caused her death, the circuit court granted the motion for summary judgment, finding that "this is really a loss of chance cause of action, which does not exist in ... Maryland."

Mr. Wadsworth appealed the grant of summary judgment to the Court of Special Appeals. The Court of Special Appeals held that Mr. Wadsworth could not show that Dr. Sharma's conduct caused Ms. Wadsworth's death because the evidence presented to the circuit court did not show that Ms. Wadsworth's likelihood of survival was greater than fifty percent absent Dr. Sharma's alleged negligence—i.e., Mr. Wadsworth could not meet his burden of proving that Dr. Sharma's alleged negligence more likely than not caused Ms. Wadsworth's death. The intermediate appellate court held that, "[t]he motions [court] had no choice but to grant summary judgment in favor of the defendants ... as to the wrongful death claim." Wadsworth v. Sharma , 251 Md. App. 159, 183, 254 A.3d 66 (2021).

Mr. Wadsworth petitioned for a writ of certiorari , which we granted on October 12, 2021. Wadsworth v. Sharma , 476 Md. 264, 261 A.3d 240 (2021). Mr. Wadsworth's petition for writ of certiorari requested that we answer whether "Maryland's Wrongful Death Statute, specifically, § 3-902(a) of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, permit[s] wrongful death beneficiaries to recover from a health care provider where the actions of the health care provider shortened the terminally ill decedent's life?" In essence, the question presented invites this Court to review its decisions in Weimer v. Hetrick and Fennell v. Southern Maryland Hospital Center, Inc. —two cases setting Maryland's foundation for the loss of chance doctrine in wrongful death and survival claims. Precisely, we consider whether the loss of chance doctrine applies to Mr. Wadsworth's wrongful death claim.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Granting a motion for summary judgment is proper when "the motion and response show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the party in whose favor judgment is entered is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Md. Rule 2-501(f). Whether a trial court properly granted a motion for summary judgment is subject to de novo review. Chateau Foghorn LP v. Hosford , 455 Md. 462, 482, 168 A.3d 824 (2017) (citations omitted). In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we independently review the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and construe reasonable inferences against the moving party. Id.

DISCUSSION

A. Parties’ Contentions

CJ § 3-902(a) states that "[a]n action may be maintained against a person whose wrongful act causes the death of another." Mr. Wadsworth encourages this Court to strictly adhere to the plain language of CJ § 3-902(a), particularly with respect to the use of the word "causes[.]" Mr. Wadsworth cites to the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "cause" that states, "that which produces an effect; that which gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition."

Mr. Wadsworth argues that Dr. Sharma's decision to not follow up with Ms. Wadsworth after her abnormal scan "g[ave] rise to" Ms. Wadsworth's June 10, 2017 death. According to Mr. Wadsworth, had Dr. Sharma started treating Ms. Wadsworth immediately after she produced the abnormal scan, she would have lived an additional two and a half years. Mr. Wadsworth acknowledges that Maryland jurisprudence has clarified "cause" as it relates to negligence but contends that he needed to prove that Ms. Wadsworth "would not have...