“Medical Claim”
R.C. 2305.113(E)(3) defines the term “medical claim” for statute of limitations purposes and provides, in relevant part:
“Medical claim” means any claim that is asserted in any civil action against a physician, podiatrist, hospital, home, or residential facility, against any employee or agent of a physician, podiatrist, hospital, home, or residential facility, or against a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, physical therapist, physician assistant, emergency medical technician-basic, emergency medical technician-intermediate, or emergency medical
technician-paramedic, and that arises out of the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of any person. “Medical claim” includes the following: * * * (e) Claims that arise out of skilled nursing care or personal care services provided in a home pursuant to the plan of care, medical diagnosis, or treatment.
In a civil lawsuit alleging that an Ohio nursing home resident was injured on May 22, 2019, when two aides failed to properly assist her to a toilet from her wheelchair and the resident fell and suffered a displaced fracture of the distal fibula with fragment displacement, a vertical fracture of the posterior malleolus, and posterior talar dislocation, the plaintiff-estate argued the trial court erred in holding that two aides dropping a patient while using a commode is a “medical claim.”
Medical claims are subject to a one-year statute of limitations. R.C. 2305.113(A). Ordinary negligence claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. R.C. 2305.10. Thus, whether the defendants’ conduct gives rise to a medical claim or an ordinary negligence claim determines the applicable statute of limitations and the viability of the alleged claims.
The Court of Appeals of Ohio Eighth Appellate District stated in its December 21, 2023 Journal Entry and Opinion: “[U]nder the 2015 amendment, “medical claims” are no longer limited to injuries caused by an act or omission related to some type of medical test or procedure ordered by a doctor or other medical professional. They now include claims arising from personal-care services provided in a nursing home or residential facility, including assisting residents with activities of daily living. Assisting a patient in moving from a wheelchair to a toilet is an activity of daily living. Classifying such assistance as a personal-care service makes sense because ordinarily no duty of care exists for one person to assist another with activities of daily living such as toileting or getting in and out of a wheelchair. Such a duty only arises when skilled nursing and personal-care services are provided to people, who require this kind of assistance. Therefore, Smith’s claim constitutes a medical claim under R.C. 2305.113(E)(3)(d) because it involved the provision of personal-care services in a nursing facility.”
Furthermore, “The original complaint was filed in the name of Martha Starcher, individually. The complaint was a nullity because Starcher was deceased at the time the complaint was filed. Starcher’s personal representative did not seek to amend the complaint to be substituted as the party-plaintiff until after the statute of limitations had expired. And because the amended complaint could not relate back to the original filing, we are constrained to find that no complaint was properly filed before the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations applicable to medical claims.”
Source Smith v. Mentor Ridge Health & Rehab., 2023-Ohio-4659.
If you or a loved one suffered injuries (or worse) while a resident of a nursing home in Ohio or in another U.S. state due to a nursing home fall, nursing home assault, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, nursing home under-staffing, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a nursing home claim lawyer in Ohio or in your state who may investigate your nursing home claim for you and file a nursing home claim on your behalf or behalf of your loved one, if appropriate.
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