Plaintiff is the daughter of Louise Longus (“Decedent”). Decedent underwent a below the knee amputation at a hospital in Washington, D.C. On January 7 or 8, 2017, Decedent was transferred to Fairland Center (the “Facility”) for rehabilitation. While Decedent was at the Facility, Decedent told Plaintiff that she had been dropped. Plaintiff contends that “[w]hile the place of the drop was not made clear, the issue is what happened after the drop was communicated to the nursing facility.” Plaintiff contends that [n]o scans or x-rays were performed between January 8[th] and [January] 10[th]” at the Facility. On January 10, 2017, Decedent was found unresponsive at the Facility, and Decedent was transferred to Howard County Hospital. Decedent passed away at Howard County Hospital on January 11, 2017.
On March 21, 2022, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Fairland Road Operations, alleging medical malpractice negligence and wrongful death. On March 16, 2023, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, naming the correct Defendant, and asserting diversity jurisdiction. On September 30, 2024, Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. Defendant argued that Plaintiff has not provided expert testimony necessary for a prima facie case of medical malpractice negligence; therefore, Defendant is entitled to summary judgment.
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland stated in its March 28, 2025 Memorandum Opinion: “Tragically, Decedent passed away under circumstances that are unfortunately left too unclear in the record to permit her estate or heirs to proceed. Although Plaintiff identifies an expert, Plaintiff’s expert merely testifies as to the ultimate cause of Decedent’s death. Plaintiff’s expert fails to establish the standard of care for nursing home facilities. Moreover, Plaintiff’s expert fails to identify how Defendant breached that standard of care. As discussed above, Plaintiff has already conceded that there is no evidence that Defendant was responsible for dropping Decedent. To survive a motion for summary judgment for Plaintiff’s claim that Defendant negligently failed to provide proper care after being informed that Decedent fell, Plaintiff would need expert evidence that established that the standard of care for the facility was breached because Defendant failed to address Decedent’s fall, that the breach contributed to Decedent’s injury, and ultimately caused her death. Plaintiff would also need expert testimony that had Defendant responded properly, Defendant would have been able to treat Decedent in a way that would have impacted her prognosis. Plaintiff’s expert does not provide this testimony. Plaintiff has not provided any evidence that Defendant was negligent in caring for Decedent. Therefore, there is no genuine dispute of material fact, and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment will be granted as to Plaintiff’s medical malpractice negligence claims.”
Source Estate of Louise Longus v. 2101 Fairland Road Operations, LLC, No. 8:2022cv00682.
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