Doe v. Good Samaritan Hospital (May 4, 2018, F073934) __ Cal.App.5th __ [2018 WL 2077993], certified for publication May 21, 2018
John Doe, a 12-year-old patient voluntarily admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital for psychiatric treatment, was placed in a room with a 10-year-old patient admitted under a psychiatric hold. The Hospital observed both patients every 15 minutes as ordered by the admitting physicians. Doe was discharged after nine days, but then began exhibiting signs of posttraumatic stress disorder. He eventually informed his parents that his hospital roommate had sodomized him in the bathroom. Doe sued the Hospital for negligence, alleging it should not have assigned him to share a room with his assailant and it should have observed them more vigilantly. The Hospital filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground it did not breach its duty of care. The Hospital supported its motion with a conclusory three-page expert declaration by a registered nurse who opined that the Hospital had met the standard of care. Doe failed to file an admissible opposing expert declaration. The trial court granted summary judgment; Doe appealed.
The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the nurse’s threadbare declaration supporting the Hospital’s motion lacked evidentiary and legal weight. “Without any elaboration regarding the applicable standard of care and what conduct was required to meet it, the expert declaration is legally insufficient.” The declaration had failed to specify the precise standards of care or the protocols, policies, or guidelines governing room assignments and patient observations. Absent that information, the Court of Appeal found no basis on which the trial court could conclude the Hospital had satisfied the standard of care. Accordingly, because the Hospital had failed to undermine Doe’s negligence theories, the summary judgment was reversed.
Prepared by H. Thomas Watson and Peder K. Batalden, Horvitz & Levy, LLP
California Society for Healthcare Attorneys
1215 K Street, Suite 800
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