Johnson v. Open Door Community Health Centers (Sept. 11, 2017, A143992) __ Cal.App.5th __ [2017 WL 3976813]
A patient sued her health clinic, alleging that she suffered serious injuries after tripping on a weight scale that was moved by clinic staff during her visit. Because she filed suit nearly two years after the incident, the clinic moved for summary judgment arguing that the suit was time-barred by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act’s (MICRA) one-year statute of limitations for negligence claims arising from “professional services.” The patient argued that her suit was timely under the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. The trial court agreed with the clinic, ruling that the MICRA limitations period applied because the patient was injured in the course of obtaining medical treatment, by equipment used to diagnose and treat medical conditions.
The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims applied. The court explained that, under the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Flores v. Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (2016) 63 Cal.4th 75, the MICRA limitations statute applies only to lawsuits alleging “professional negligence,” i.e., those concerning obligations medical providers owe to their patients, as distinguished from obligations providers owe to the general public simply by operating public facilities. The MICRA limitations period did not apply here because the patient alleged she was injured when she tripped while exiting the facility after concluding her medical treatment, and those facts implicated a duty the clinic owed equally to all members of the public visiting its facility, not merely to those undergoing treatment.
Thomas Watson
htwatson@horvitzlevy.com
Horvitz & Levy LLP
3601 W. Olive Ave., 8th Fl.
Burbank, CA 91505
818.995.0800
horvitzlevy.com
