RAHEIM SMITH VS. ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER (L-1489-16, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2019 )


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  •                                  NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
    APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
    This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the
    internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited . R. 1:36-3.
    SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
    APPELLATE DIVISION
    DOCKET NO. A-0526-18T4
    RAHEIM SMITH and
    MICHELLE SMITH,
    Plaintiffs-Appellants,
    v.
    ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL AND
    MEDICAL CENTER, t/d/b/a
    ST. JOSEPH'S REGIONAL
    MEDICAL CENTER and t/d/b/a
    ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY
    MEDICAL CENTER, ST.
    JOSEPH'S HEALTHCARE, INC.,
    ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTHCARE
    SYSTEM, INC., ST. JOSEPH'S
    PHYSICIANS HEALTHCARE
    GROUP, INC., ST. JOSEPH'S
    PHYSICIANS, INC., ST. JOSEPH'S
    FACULTY PHYSICIANS, INC.,
    UNIVERSITY SPINE CENTER,
    PC, and MICHAEL J. FALOON,
    M.D.,
    Defendants-Respondents,
    and
    VIRTUAL RADIOLOGIC
    PROFESSIONALS, LLC, VIRTUAL
    RADIOLOGIC PROFESSIONALS
    OF NEW JERSEY, PA, VIBHU
    KAPOOR, M.D., and SETON HALL
    UNIVERSITY,
    Defendants.
    ______________________________
    Argued November 27, 2018 – Decided March 19, 2019
    Before Judges Fisher and Suter.
    On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
    Division, Essex County, Docket No. L-1489-16.
    Jillian A.S. Roman argued the cause for appellants
    (Cohen, Placitella & Roth, PC, attorneys; Jillian A.S.
    Roman, on the brief).
    Charles E. Murray, III, argued the cause for
    respondents St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center,
    St. Joseph's Healthcare, Inc., St. Joseph's Healthcare
    System, Inc., St. Joseph's Physicians Healthcare Group,
    Inc., St. Joseph's Physicians, Inc. and St. Joseph's
    Faculty Physicians, Inc. (Farkas & Donohue, LLC,
    attorneys; Charles E. Murray, III, on the brief).
    Richard J. Tamn argued the cause for respondents
    Michael J. Faloon, M.D. and University Spine Center,
    PC (Krompier & Tamn, LLC, attorneys; Richard J.
    Tamn, of counsel and on the brief; Elizabeth G.
    Thompson, on the brief).
    PER CURIAM
    Plaintiffs Raheim and Michelle Smith were granted leave to appeal from
    an order denying the amendment of their medical malpractice complaint that
    A-0526-18T4
    2
    would have added Kumar G. Sinha, M.D. and Leah Abucay, R.N. as additional
    defendants, and a subsequent order that denied their motion for reconsideration.
    We reverse the denial of the amendment because the discovery rule should have
    been applied.1 We also reverse the denial of reconsideration.
    I
    We relate facts pertinent to this opinion. Raheim,2 who was sixteen in
    2015, suffered from severe "idiopathic scoliosis"3 of the spine. Michelle is his
    mother. On April 7, 2015, defendant Michael J. Faloon, M.D. (Dr. Faloon) and
    Kumar G. Sinha, M.D. (Dr. Sinha), who practiced together in defendant
    University Spine Center, PC, performed scoliosis reconstruction surgery on
    Raheim's spine. The operation was performed at defendant St. Joseph's Hospital
    and Medical Center. Raheim had normal feeling and strength in his legs and
    arms right after the surgery. By about 10:00 p.m. that evening, however, Raheim
    complained of lack of feeling or movement in his legs or feet. Neurological
    1
    We do not reverse the part of the order that amended the caption to allow
    Raheim Smith to bring the action individually on his own behalf.
    2
    We use first names in this opinion to avoid confusion because plaintiffs share
    the same surname.
    3
    Scoliosis is defined as an abnormal lateral and rotational curvature of the
    vertebral column (spine). Stedman's Medical Dictionary 1734 (28th ed. 2005).
    A-0526-18T4
    3
    testing confirmed he had lost feeling below the nipple line, movement in his legs
    and feet and some strength in his left hand. He received medical treatment and
    an MRI was performed. While at the MRI, Raheim regained movement and
    sensation.
    A decision was made to transfer Raheim to the Pediatric Intensive Care
    Unit (PICU) rather than operate on him further that night. When Raheim was
    admitted to PICU at about 2:20 a.m., he reported feeling pain stimulation in both
    legs but his left hand grasp was a little less. Leah Abucay, R.N. (Nurse Abucay),
    who was on duty in PICU, performed a number of medical checks throughout
    the rest of the night, but did not wake Raheim to conduct neurological tests to
    monitor his movements or feeling. At 6:30 a.m., an orthopedic resident who
    examined Raheim, found he had lost motor function and sensation in his legs
    and feet. Drs. Faloon and Sinha were notified and later that morning they
    operated on Raheim to remove the implants they had inserted in the earlier spinal
    surgery. Raheim did not regain sensation or movement thereafter and now
    suffers from paraplegia.   Plaintiffs contend the MRI was misread and that
    A-0526-18T4
    4
    Raheim experienced a post-operative epidural hematoma 4 that compressed the
    spinal cord.
    In March 2016, Michelle filed a malpractice lawsuit for Raheim in her
    capacity as his guardian and for herself individually. Dr. Faloon and others were
    named as defendants. Discovery progressed; there were multiple motions to
    address discovery issues.
    In late May 2018, plaintiffs filed a motion to amend their complaint to add
    Dr. Sinha and Nurse Abucay as defendants and, because Raheim no longer was
    a minor, to amend the complaint's caption to reflect that the claims were brought
    by him individually. Plaintiffs claimed they first learned on October 25, 2017,
    when Dr. Sinha was deposed, that he and Dr. Faloon decided jointly not to
    operate on Raheim but to place him in PICU based on the MRI and on Raheim's
    regained movement. None of the medical records had shown that Dr. Sinha
    participated in the decision not to operate a second time.
    Plaintiffs claimed they learned on November 17, 2017, that Dr. Faloon
    had ordered PICU to perform hourly neurological testing of Raheim. The
    medical records did not show that order, so plaintiffs were not aware of this
    4
    An epidural hematoma occurs when a mass of blood forms on or outside of
    the dura matter (the outer most membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord).
    Stedman's Medical Dictionary 654, 863, and 592 (28th ed. 2005).
    A-0526-18T4
    5
    prior to the deposition of a resident where this information was revealed. Also,
    on February 20, 2018, plaintiffs obtained a copy of the hospital's policy that
    PICU patients should be assessed every one to two hours or more frequently as
    needed. Plaintiffs' motion sought to add Nurse Abucay as a defendant because
    they alleged she violated her duty of care by not performing hourly neurological
    checks or following the hospital's policy.
    The trial court denied plaintiffs' motion to add Dr. Sinha and Nurse
    Abucay as defendants, rejecting their argument that the discovery rule applied.
    The court concluded plaintiffs had "a basis to bring Sinha and . . . Abucay into
    this case long before now." "Dr. Sinha was the assistant in the operation. Nurse
    Abucay was monitoring during the three hours . . . [t]here was enough to put
    you on notice." Plaintiffs were not diligent; the court noted that "the concept of
    due diligence appli[ed] in the discovery rule context." Also, plaintiffs did not
    supply the court with legal authority to support their arguments. However, the
    judge did grant plaintiffs' motion to amend the caption to reflect that Raheim's
    claims now were brought in his individual capacity.
    The    court   subsequently    denied   plaintiffs'   motion   for    partial
    reconsideration because plaintiffs' arguments previously had been raised,
    A-0526-18T4
    6
    considered and rejected by the court. We granted plaintiffs' motion for leave to
    appeal.
    On appeal, plaintiffs contend the trial court erred by holding they could
    not rely on the discovery rule to amend their complaint when previously they
    were not aware of facts demonstrating medical negligence by Dr. Sinha and
    Nurse Abucay. They also contend the court erred in finding they were dilatory
    in conducting discovery and filing a motion to amend even though their motion
    was filed within two years of discovering the alleged negligence by Dr. Sinha
    and Nurse Abucay and within two years of Raheim reaching eighteen.
    II
    We review the trial court's ruling on a motion to amend the pleadings
    under the abuse of discretion standard. Fisher v. Yates, 
    270 N.J. Super. 458
    ,
    467 (App. Div. 1994). The same standard governs our review of decisions on
    motions for reconsideration. Cummings v. Bahr, 
    295 N.J. Super. 374
    , 389 (App.
    Div. 1996).
    After a responsive pleading has been served, a party may amend a
    pleading "by written consent of the adverse party or by leave of court, which
    shall be freely given in the interest of justice." R. 4:9-1. Kernan v. One
    Washington Park Urban Renewal Assocs., 
    154 N.J. 437
    , 456-57 (1998). This
    A-0526-18T4
    7
    decision is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. 
    Ibid.
     The
    "exercise of discretion requires a two-step process: whether the non-moving
    party will be prejudiced, and whether granting the amendment would
    nonetheless be futile." Notte v. Merchs. Mut. Ins. Co., 
    185 N.J. 490
    , 501 (2006).
    "[T]he factual situation in each case must guide the court's discretion,
    particularly where the motion is to add new claims or new parties late in the
    litigation." Bonczek v. Carter-Wallace, Inc., 
    304 N.J. Super. 593
    , 602 (App.
    Div. 1997). "'[C]ourts are free to refuse leave to amend when the newly asserted
    claim is not sustainable as a matter of law.'" Notte, 
    185 N.J. at 501
     (quoting
    Interchange State Bank v. Rinaldi, 
    303 N.J. Super. 239
    , 256-57 (App. Div.
    1997)).
    Plaintiffs contend the court erred in denying their motion because the
    discovery rule applied. Under that rule, they had two years from when they
    discovered the negligence by Dr. Sinha and Nurse Abucay to file suit. Because
    their motion was filed within that timeframe, it was not "futile" as defendants
    argued.
    Medical malpractice actions must be instituted within two years from the
    date of the alleged negligence. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. However, the discovery rule
    was adopted "[t]o prevent the sometimes harsh result of a mechanical
    A-0526-18T4
    8
    application of the statute of limitations." Martinez v. Cooper Hosp. Univ. Med.
    Ctr., 
    163 N.J. 45
    , 52 (2000) (citing Vispisiano v. Ashland Chem. Co., 
    107 N.J. 416
    , 426 (1987), and Fernandi v. Strully, 
    35 N.J. 434
    , 449-50 (1961)). As a rule
    of equity, it provides that a cause of action will not accrue "until the injured
    party discovers, or by an exercise of reasonable diligence and intelligence
    should have discovered that he may have a basis for an actionable claim" against
    another party. Lopez v. Swyer, 
    62 N.J. 267
    , 272 (1973). It "prevents the statute
    of limitations from running when injured parties reasonably are unaware that
    they have been injured, or, although aware of an injury, do not know that the
    injury is attributable to the fault of another." Baird v. American Medical Optics,
    
    155 N.J. 54
    , 66 (1998) (citing Tevis v. Tevis, 
    79 N.J. 422
    , 432 (1979)). Further,
    "where a plaintiff knows of an injury, but fault is not self-evident or implicit in
    the injury itself, it must be shown that a reasonable person would have been
    aware of such fault in order to bar the plaintiff from invoking the discovery
    rule." Martinez, 
    163 N.J. at 55
    .
    The trial court rejected application of the discovery rule because plaintiffs
    knew about Raheim's paralysis, that Dr. Sinha was involved in the original
    operation and that Nurse Abucay was on duty that night in PICU. It was not
    persuaded to apply the rule just because plaintiffs were not aware until much
    A-0526-18T4
    9
    later in discovery of Dr. Sinha and Nurse Abucay's alleged fault during the
    overnight hours. However:
    knowledge of fault for purposes of the discovery rule
    has a circumscribed meaning: it requires only the
    awareness of facts that would alert a reasonable person
    exercising ordinary diligence that a third party's
    conduct may have caused or contributed to the cause of
    the injury and that conduct itself might possibly have
    been unreasonable or lacking in due care.
    [Savage v. Old Bridge-Sayreville Medical Group, 
    134 N.J. 241
    , 248 (1993).]
    Plaintiffs limit their malpractice claim against Dr. Sinha and Nurse
    Abucay to "the post-surgical care received by [Raheim] during the overnight
    hours of April 7, 2015 to April 8, 2015." Although they were aware that Dr.
    Sinha assisted in the reconstructive surgery on April 7, there was nothing in the
    medical records to show that he was involved in any of the decisions during or
    after the MRI. Defendants do not dispute that. Dr. Sinha's involvement with
    that subsequent period was not known until his deposition in October 2017.
    Therefore, although plaintiffs knew the nature of the injury, they reasonably did
    not know that the injury was attributable to the alleged fault of Dr. Sinha.
    The same is true for Nurse Abucay.         Plaintiffs were aware she was
    involved with Raheim's care in the early morning of August 8 and that the
    medical records did not reflect neurological testing. Plaintiffs did not know
    A-0526-18T4
    10
    until November 2017 about Dr. Faloon's order for hourly neurological tests.
    Nurse Abucay acknowledged not waking Raheim to perform neurologic tests.
    We are satisfied that the discovery rule applies because a reasonable person
    exercising ordinary diligence would not have been aware that Dr. Sinha and
    Nurse Abucay's conduct "may have caused or contributed to the cause of the
    injury and that conduct itself might possibly have been unreasonable or lacking
    in due care." Savage, 
    134 N.J. at 248
    .
    We also are satisfied plaintiffs acted diligently in pursuing these claims.
    There were multiple discovery motions and request to produce documents.
    Discovery was still on-going in the Fall of 2017 when this information was
    obtained. Defendants do not allege they were prejudiced by the time elapsed
    from when the depositions were taken to the time this motion was filed.
    The case is similar to Gallagher v. Burdette-Tomlin Mem. Hosp., 
    163 N.J. 38
     (2000), where the Court affirmed an application of the discovery rule. In
    Gallagher, plaintiff had surgery to alleviate incontinence, but after the operation
    she developed an infection and abscess resulting in her total incontinence. The
    Court applied the discovery rule, recognizing that the statute of limitations for a
    medical malpractice case can run at different times for different defendants. 
    163 N.J. at 43
    . The Court stated "[t]he patient here had no reasonable basis to
    A-0526-18T4
    11
    suspect that her crippling condition was caused by anything other than the
    original surgery." 
    Ibid.
     There was "[n]o readily apparent indication of the
    [doctor's] potential contribution to the patient's medical deterioration
    materialized until [the expert physician] brought the failure to treat plaintiff's
    infection to light." Id. at 44. The Court held that "[t]he benefit of the discovery
    rule should be available to this plaintiff who remained reasonably 'unaware . . .
    that the injury [wa]s due to the fault or neglect of an identifiable individual or
    entity.'" Id. at 43-44 (alterations in the original) (quoting Abbond v. Viscomi,
    
    111 N.J. 56
    , 62 (1988)).
    Even if the discovery rule did not apply, Raheim should have been able to
    amend the complaint to add these claims based on equitable tolling. N.J.S.A.
    2A:14-21 provides:
    If a person entitled to commence an action or
    proceeding specified in [N.J.S.2A:14-2] . . . is under the
    age of [eighteen] years . . . the person may commence
    the action or make the entry, within the time as limited
    by [the] statute[], after reaching majority or having the
    mental capacity to pursue the person's lawful rights.
    [N.J.S.A. 2A:14-21.]
    In LaFage v. Jani, 
    166 N.J. 412
    , 430-31 (2001), where the children's
    mother filed a wrongful death action twenty-seven days after the statute of
    limitations had run, the court permitted equitable tolling. More recently in A.T.
    A-0526-18T4
    12
    v. Cohen, 
    231 N.J. 337
     (2017), the Supreme Court addressed the effect of an
    untimely affidavit of merit, filed on behalf of a minor by her parent, on the
    dismissal of the minor's malpractice action.     In that case, the Court found
    extraordinary circumstances to permit reinstatement of that complaint, reversing
    the Appellate Division's majority opinion that had relied on Kubiak v. Robert
    Wood Johnson Univ. Hosp., 
    332 N.J. Super. 230
    , 238 (App. Div. 2000) to affirm
    dismissal of the complaint.      The denial of Raheim's motion to amend his
    complaint was not consistent with the "solicitude the law affords minors,"5 or
    the equitable tolling statute.
    We are mindful of the potential for prejudice, but in this case defendants
    have been aware of plaintiff's injury and the malpractice lawsuit for a number
    of years, records have been obtained, depositions taken, the additional parties
    have been deposed and the claims against them are limited to their involvement
    in the overnight hours following the reconstructive operation.
    Therefore, we conclude the trial court misapplied its discretion in denying
    plaintiff's motion to amend the complaint to add Dr. Sinha and Nurse Abucay as
    5
    A.T. v. Cohen, 
    445 N.J. Super. 300
    , 310 (App. Div. 2016) (Fisher, P.J.A.D.,
    dissenting) (reversed and remanded by A.T., 
    231 N.J. 337
    ).
    A-0526-18T4
    13
    defendants. We reverse those portions of the orders and remand for further
    proceedings consistent with this decision. We do not retain jurisdiction.
    Reversed and remanded.
    A-0526-18T4
    14