Source: http://ct.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20170307_0000235.DCT.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-06-23 20:49:28
Document Index: 382655933

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 52', '§ 52', '§ 52', '§\n52', '§ 52', '§ 52']

| Trella v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
WENDY TRELLA Plaintiff,v.WAL-MART STORES, INC., WAL-MART STORES EAST, INC. & WAL-MART STORES EAST, L.P. Defendants/Third-Party Plaintiffs,v.MIDDLESEX HEALTH SYSTEM, INC., D/B/A MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL, Third-Party Defendant.
W. Thompson United States District Judge
Party Defendant Middlesex Health System, Inc. d/b/a Middlesex
Hospital (“Middlesex Hospital”) has moved to
dismiss the Third Party Complaint filed by Walmart Stores,
Inc., Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores East,
L.P. (collectively “Wal-Mart”). For the reasons
set forth below, the motion to dismiss is being denied.
Connecticut law, prior to filing a claim for medical
malpractice, a plaintiff must first conduct a
“reasonable inquiry . . . to determine that there are
grounds for a good faith belief that there has been
negligence in the care or treatment of the claimant.”
Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 52-190a(a). Furthermore:
[t]he complaint, initial pleading or apportionment complaint
shall contain a certificate of the attorney or party filing
the action or apportionment complaint that such reasonable
inquiry gave rise to a good faith belief that grounds exist
for an action against each named defendant or for an
apportionment complaint against each named apportionment
defendant. To show the existence of such good faith, the
claimant or the claimant's attorney . . . shall obtain a
written and signed opinion of a similar health care provider
. . . that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence
and includes a detailed basis for the formation of such
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a(a). “The failure to
obtain and file the written opinion required by subsection
(a) of this section shall be grounds for dismissal of the
action.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a(c). The
Connecticut Supreme Court has held compliance with this
statute is “a precondition to effective service of
process for the initiation of a medical malpractice
action.” Morgan v. Hartford Hosp., 301 Conn.
388, 400-01 (2011).
court sitting in diversity applies Connecticut substantive
law and federal procedural law. ‘“The Second
Circuit has not yet determined whether the requirement of a
certificate of good faith in a medical malpractice action is
a substantive or procedural requirement, ”' but
“this Court repeatedly has dismissed medical
malpractice claims brought under Connecticut state law for
failure to comply with Conn. Gen. Stat. §
52-190a.” Gallinari v. Kloth, 148 F.Supp.3d
202, 207 n.1 (D. Conn. 2015) (quoting Cornelius v. ECHN
Rockville Gen. Hosp., No. 3:14-cv-00779 (JAM), 2014 WL
2986688, at *3 (D. Conn. July 1, 2014) (quoting Cole v.
Greene, No. 3:11-cv-00543 (SRU), 2013 WL 1759571, at *1
(D. Conn. Apr. 24, 2013))). In so doing, courts in this
district have treated motions to dismiss for failure to
comply with § 52-190a as motions to dismiss for
insufficient process under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(5).
See Slocum v. U.S. Dep't Veterans Affairs,
No. 3:13-CV-501(SRU), 2014 WL 4161985, at *1 (D. Conn.
Aug. 19, 2014) (“[B]ecause the Connecticut Supreme
Court has held that the omission of a good faith certificate
renders service of process ineffective, the district court
should also treat the deficiency as a matter of insufficient
service of process.”). Although Middlesex Hospital
filed its motion to dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(2) and
12(b)(6), it based its argument entirely on the alleged
deficiency of service of process under § 52-190a, and
accordingly, the court analyzes the motion as one brought
pursuant to Rule 12(b)(5).
assessing a Rule 12(b)(5) motion, a court must look to Rule
4, which governs the content, issuance, and service of a
summons. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m):
complaint is filed, the court -- on motion or on its own
after notice to the plaintiff -- must dismiss the action
without prejudice against that defendant or order that
service be made within a specified time. But if the plaintiff
shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the
Id. “[W]hen a defendant moves to dismiss under
Rule 12(b)(5), the plaintiff bears the burden of proving
adequate service.” Dickerson v. Napolitano,
604 F.3d 732, 752 (2d Cir. 2010) (alteration in original)
(quoting Burda Media, Inc. v. Viertel, 417 F.3d 292,
298 (2d Cir. 2005)).
September 14, 2013, while Plaintiff Wendy Trella
(“Trella”) was shopping at a Wal-Mart store in
Wallingford, Connecticut, a display of one-gallon apple juice
boxes fell over onto her. Trella suffered the following as a
result of this incident: injuries to her cervical, dorsal,
and lumbar spine; injuries to her head, left shoulder, right
hip, right buttock, and right leg; disc protrusions to her
lumbar spine; radiculopathy; posttraumatic headaches;
post-concussive syndrome; pain; spasms; weakness; and limited
range of motion in her neck, back, head, left shoulder, right
hip, right buttock and right leg.
about June 16, 2015, Trella was admitted to Middlesex
Hospital to undergo a surgical procedure. Employees of
Middlesex Hospital placed Trella on an operating room table
and administered sedation. After Trella was sedated, but
before the surgical procedure began, she was allowed to fall
fully or partially off the operating room table. Trella
alleges that as a result of this incident, she sustained a
head injury, a concussion, a laceration to the head,
cognitive loss, headaches and cognitive impairments.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wal-Mart
alleges that the injuries Trella suffered as a result of the
June 16, 2015 incident were caused by the carelessness and
negligence of Middlesex Hospital in that its employees,
servants, and/or agents, inter alia, failed to
properly secure Trella to the operating room table, failed to
adequately monitor her movements, and failed to provide
adequate staffing so Trella could be watched after she was
sedated. Wal-Mart further alleges that if ...