ALL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, INC., AND FLORIDA BIRTH-RELATED NEUROLOGICAL INJURY COMPENSATION ASSOCIATION, APPELLANTS,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS, COURTNEY LYNN GLENN, A MINOR, BY AND THROUGH GREGORY H. FISHER, AS COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIAN OF THE PROPERTY OF COURTNEY LYNN GLENN, ANNA LENTINI, F/K/A ANNA GLENN, AND CHRISTOPHER GLENN, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 2008-01-16
No. 2D02-1638
NORTHCUTT, C.J., and STRINGER, J., Concur.
989 So. 2d 2 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

On remand from the Florida Supreme Court, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed an administrative law judge's decision and held that notice of participation in the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan given by a delivering physician was sufficient to shield All Children's Hospital from tort liability, even though the hospital itself did not provide notice to the patient.


Holding

The notice given by the delivering physician satisfied the statutory notice requirements of the Act, and All Children's Hospital was entitled to the benefit of the exclusivity of remedy provision even though it did not itself provide notice. The ALJ erred in holding that Bayfront's failure to give notice precluded All Children's from invoking the statutory exclusive remedy provision.


Headnotes

[1] A physician's notice of participation in the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan is sufficient to satisfy the statutory notice requirements, even…

[2] A hospital that does not employ the delivering physician is not required to provide additional notice to a patient to ensure the physician's employer can invoke the exclu…

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Key Quotes

“whether — assuming the infant suffered a compensable injury under the Act — the notice given by the physician was sufficient to establish All Children's entitlement to immunity from tort liability for the conduct of the neonatal nurses”

Statement of the central legal issue on remand

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Facts & Procedural History

An infant suffered alleged birth-related neurological injuries during delivery at Bayfront Medical Center. All Children's Hospital employed neonatal n…

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Opinion of the Court
CANADY, Judge.

CANADY, Judge.

Our prior decision in this case, see All Children’s Hosp., Inc. v. Dep’t of Admin. Hearings, 863 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004), has been quashed by the supreme court, see Fla. Birthr-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass’n v. Fla. Div. of Admin. Hearings, 948 So. 2d 705 (Fla.2007).

As more fully discussed in our prior opinion, the case arises from injuries allegedly suffered by an infant who was delivered at Bayfront Medical Center. All Children’s Hospital was the employer of neonatal nurses who were provided to Bayfront under a contractual arrangement and who administered immediate postde-livery resuscitation to the infant, as well as subsequent resuscitation and other neonatal care. On remand from the supreme court, the case presents the question of whether sufficient notice was given under the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Act (the Act), sections 766.301-.316, Florida Statutes (1997), for All Children’s Hospital to obtain the benefit of the exclusivity of remedy provision set forth in section 766.303(2).

It is undisputed that proper notice of participation was given by the delivering physician, who was a participant in the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan (the Plan).

The crucial issue is whether — assuming the infant suffered a compensable injury under the Act — the notice given by the physician was sufficient to establish All Children’s entitlement to immunity from tort liability for the conduct of the neonatal nurses. The administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that the failure of Bayfront to give notice precluded All Children’s from invoking the exclusive remedy provision of the Act.

The disposition of this case is controlled by this court’s decision in Bayfront Medical Center, Inc. v. Fla. Birth-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass’n, 982 So. 2d 704 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008).

In Bayfront, we held that the giving of proper notice of participation in the Plan by the delivering physician was sufficient to satisfy the statutory notice requirements and that a hospital which did not employ the delivering physician was not required to provide additional notice to the patient. Under the reasoning of Bayfront, the notice given by the delivering physician in this case — who was not an employee of the hospital where the infant was delivered — was sufficient to meet the notice requirements of the Act. We therefore conclude that the ALJ erred in holding that Bayfront’s failure to give notice precluded All Children’s from, invoking the statutory exclusive remedy provision and being shielded from tort liability. On remand, the ALJ shall make the required determination concerning compensability under section 766.309.

The order on appeal is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. As we did in Bayfront, we certify the following question as one of great public importance:

IN LIGHT OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT’S DECISION IN GALEN OF FLORIDA, INC. V. BRANIFF, 696 So. 2d 308 (Fla.1997), DOES A PHYSICIAN’S PREDELIV-ERY NOTICE TO HIS OR HER PATIENT OF THE PLAN AND HIS OR HER PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN SATISFY THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 766.316, FLORIDA STATUTES (1997), IF THE HOSPITAL WHERE THE DELIVERY TAKES PLACE FAILS TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF ANY KIND?

Reversed and remanded; question certified.

NORTHCUTT, C.J., and STRINGER, J., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • …POLSTON, J. This consolidated case is before the Court for review of All Children’s Hospital, Inc. v. Department of Administrative Hearings, 989 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), and Bayfront Medical Center, Inc. v. Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Ass’n, 982 So. 2d 704 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008). In both opinions the Second District Court of Appeal ruled upon the following question, which t…
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  • ALL Child's. Hosp., Inc. v. Dep't OF Admin. Hearings, 55 So. 3d 670 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)
    …hed our decision and remanded, Fla. Birth-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass’n v. Fla. Div. of Admin. Hearings, 948 So. 2d 705 (Fla.2007), whereupon we rendered another decision in the case, All Children’s Hosp., Inc. v. Dep’t of Admin. Hearings, 989 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008). The supreme court has quashed our second decision, as well, and again it has remanded the case to us for further consideration. Fla. Birth-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass’n v. Dep’t of Admin. Hearings, 29 So. 3d 992 (Fla.20…

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