Court Opinion

ID: 9623259
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:30:35.999274+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:04:13.545959
License: Public Domain

Blackburn, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Once again we are faced with a case in which the requirements of OCGA § 9-11-9.1 have created an additional level of litigation where traditionally authorized procedures could have more efficiently dealt with the underlying issues. I am in agreement with Divisions 1, 2, and 4 of the majority; however, I must respectfully dissent from Division 3 as I do not agree that Dr. Bussey’s affidavit satisfies the pleading requirements of OCGA § 9-11-9.1. My dissent, therefore, deals exclusively with the adequacy of the OCGA § 9-11-9.1 affidavit required for plaintiffs’ cause of action for medical malpractice (Count 5 in plaintiffs’ complaint), and not other issues which are not before us.
Plaintiffs brought the present action against several defendants: a city, a sheriff, a doctor, and three nurses. In their complaint, the plaintiffs do not relate the negligent actions to any individual defendant in the medical malpractice cause of action. Plaintiffs refer to the failure of the defendants collectively to provide adequate medical attention and treatment to plaintiffs’ decedent. Plaintiffs allege that the actions of each defendant constituted medical care which was negligent. Again, in Dr. Bussey’s affidavit, the allegations of negligence are not connected to specific defendants, instead Dr. Bussey cites as negligent the conduct of the “City of Columbus, County of Muscogee, Georgia, Jail Health Clinic” and “jail clinic departmental personnel and staff.”
We have construed OCGA § 9-11-9.1 to require “a valid affidavit by an expert competent to testify in court against each professional *576defendant named in the complaint, in which is set forth specifically at least one negligent act or omission claimed to exist as to each professional defendant (jointly, where appropriate; otherwise, severally) and the factual basis for the claim against each defendant.” HCA Health Svcs. of Ga. v. Hampshire, 206 Ga. App. 108, 110 (424 SE2d 293) (1992). “Although the express language of § 9-11-9.1 does not require the affidavit to name the party who was allegedly negligent, § 9-11-9.1 has been interpreted as requiring that an affidavit be filed by a competent expert witness setting forth a single negligent act allegedly committed by the defendant.” (Citation and punctuation omitted; emphasis in original.) Gadd v. Wilson & Co. &c., 262 Ga. 234, 235 (416 SE2d 285) (1992). In Gadd, the Georgia Supreme Court found that the requirement that the alleged negligence had to be linked to the defendant was substantially met by the fact that there was only one defendant and “therefore was implicitly the party to whom” the negligence was attributed. Id.
Decided December 5, 1995
Reconsideration denied December 20, 1995
Burkey & Burkey, Jennifer A. Burkey, Frederick D. Burkey, for appellants.
Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild, Robert C. Martin, Jr., C. Morris Mullin, Page & Scrantom, W. G. Scrantom, Jr., Eugene H. Polleys, Jr., for appellees.
The present case contains multiple defendants and the affidavit fails to connect any individual defendant with a negligent act. Furthermore, the majority’s construction of this affidavit is not consistent with the purpose of OCGA § 9-11-9.1, see Gadd, supra at 235, to the extent it allows general allegations of negligence to be attributed to the entire “jail clinic departmental personnel and staff” without reference to specific acts of negligence by specific defendants. The affidavit fails to set forth the factual basis for any claim against any individual defendant.
Based upon the foregoing, I would affirm the trial court’s grant of the defendants’ motion to dismiss with regard to Count 5 for medical malpractice which was properly granted.
I am authorized to state that Judge Birdsong joins in this opinion.