Opinion ID: 1090894
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: PERRITT v. DONA

Text: Perritt filed a letter claim with the Patients' Compensation Fund (PCF) and the Commissioner of Administration, alleging a medical negligence claim against Dr. Dona and others. This letter set forth the dates of Perritt's treatment and the alleged date of malpractice and maintained that the defendants deviated from the applicable standard of medical care. The letter named as defendants: Dr. Dona, Dr. Rowland Torres, St. Francis Medical Center, and Healthsouth Rehabilitation Hospital. The defendants filed a Motion to Compel requesting that the plaintiff provide a more detailed description of his claim. In Perritt, the district court granted the defendants' motion and ruled that the letter does not contain a recitation of facts or allegations (surrounding the alleged malpractice) sufficient enough to afford the defendants proper notice. The district court ordered the plaintiff to amend the letter. Thereafter, the court of appeal denied the plaintiff's application for supervisory review. The plaintiff sought review from this Court. This Court, finding that the three cases arose from similar facts and circumstances, consolidated the three cases, granted the plaintiff's writ application, and remanded the matter to the court of appeal instructing them to resolve whether interrogatories are permissible in the medical review panel proceeding. [2] Also, this Court ordered the court of appeal to address the ruling in Solomon v. Medical Ctr. of Louisiana at New Orleans, 97-0783 (La.App. 4th Cir.5/14/97), 694 So.2d 1229. On remand, the court of appeal affirmed the district court's ruling. [3] The court of appeal noted that although Dr. Dona's pleading was captioned Motion to Compel, it was in fact an exception of no cause of action or in the alternative, an exception of vagueness. The court of appeal held that the district court did not err in granting the defendant's exception of no cause of action and/or vagueness since the plaintiff failed to list the injury he suffered or the alleged facts of causation linked to those injuries. The plaintiff appealed.