The Appellate Court of Maryland, in its Per Curium unreported opinion filed on January 4, 2024, stated:
Brian Keith Waugh, appellant, sued Dimensions Health Corporation, appellee, in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, alleging medical malpractice. Waugh alleged that, while having his blood drawn by a medical student after signing an informed-consent form, he advised the student not to probe for a vein if she was unable to draw blood. According to Waugh, she ignored his request and “went deep down inside [his] right armpit[,]” causing it to become “more sore with sharp pain.” Waugh did not file his claim with the Health Claims Arbitration Office (“HCAO”) before suing in the circuit court. So Dimensions Health moved to dismiss his complaint as prematurely filed. The circuit court granted the motion. This appeal followed.
Under the Health Claims Act, a plaintiff claiming a “medical injury” committed by a “health care provider” and more than $30,000 in damages must first file their claims with the HCAO. Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-2A-02(a)(1). On appeal, Waugh questions only whether his claim qualified as a “medical injury.” The Act defines this as an “injury arising or resulting from the rendering or failure to render health care.” Id. § 3-2A-01(g). Here, Waugh’s alleged injury resulted from the student’s rendering health care in a manner contrary to his instruction. It was therefore a medical injury. Waugh does not allege that his injury “resulted from conduct completely lacking in medical validity in relation to the medical care rendered.” Goicochea v. Langworthy, 345 Md. 719, 728 (1997). Even if performed in a manner contrary to his instruction, the student’s conduct was still medically valid. Waugh was thus required to file with the HCAO before suing in the circuit court, and the court did not err in dismissing his complaint.”
Source Waugh v. Dimensions Health Corporation, No. 444 September Term, 2023.
Maryland Medical Malpractice Law
The result of this appeal was no surprise: MD Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, § 3-2A-02 (a)(1) expressly states: “All claims, suits, and actions, including cross claims, third-party claims, and actions under Subtitle 9 of this title, by a person against a health care provider for medical injury allegedly suffered by the person in which damages of more than the limit of the concurrent jurisdiction of the District Court are sought are subject to and shall be governed by the provisions of this subtitle. (2) An action or suit of that type may not be brought or pursued in any court of this State except in accordance with this subtitle.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured as a result of medical malpractice in Maryland, you should promptly find a Maryland medical malpractice lawyer who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Maryland medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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