Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this elder abuse case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this wrongful death case and its proceedings.)
Plaintiffs’ Combined Memorandum in Opposition to the Demurrer by National Convalescent Hospital, Inc., and National Defendants to the Third Amended Complaint
Plaintiffs submit the following combined Memorandum of Points and Authorities in opposition to the Demurrer by National Convalescent Hospital, Inc., and the individual National Defendants (referred to as “Hill” or “Hill defendants”) to Plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint. Plaintiffs have elected to file one memorandum in opposition to the two demurrers, because, with only one exception, the issues presented in the two demurrers are the same.
Plaintiffs have likewise contemporaneously filed a combined Memorandum of Points and Authorities in opposition to both motions to strike.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
INTRODUCTION
The demurrer based on the statute of limitations addressed to the First Cause of Action for negligence and the Eighth Cause of Action for wrongful death raises important issues related to the limits of the scope of MICRA. This is because the demurrer is based on the assumption that each of the defendants is benefitted by MICRA’s statute of limitations provision at C.C.P. §340.5.
Specifically, the issue is whether the Hill defendants, i.e., officers, directors or other persons who participate in or meddle in the administration of a skilled nursing facility but who have no license to do so are shielded by the license issued to the licensee and the application of MICRA.
In this case, the individual defendants, with the exception of Stein and Davis, have no license as a health care provider, and no MICRA protection. Is their participation in the administration of the facility’s operation protected by MICRA? The answer is no.
As for Stein, as the facility administrator, one assumes that has a license as a skilled nursing facility administrator. As such, he is not protected by MICRA.
Wagner has a license as a nurse, but is she protected by MICRA when she participates in the administration of a skilled nursing facility’s director of nursing? A related question is whether a licensed administrator or a licensed nurse who by law are to exclusively administer all (or in the case of the nursing director – the nursing portion) of the activities of a skilled nursing facility, can be liable for allowing other persons to supplant them and their responsibilities. In other words, can an administrator or nursing director be liable for allowing excluded persons to administer the facility’s operations in their stead? If so, would that liability be subject to MICRA? The answer is no. (See Part 2 of 9.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.