Shahan v. Bayhealth Med. Ctr., Inc.

Full title: VICTORIA SHAHAN and GEORGE SHAHAN, Plaintiff, v. BAYHEALTH MEDICAL CENTER…

Court: SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY

Date published: Sep 16, 2015

C.A. No.: N15C-06-029 FSS (Del. Super. Ct. Sep. 16, 2015)

Opinion

C.A. No.: N15C-06-029 FSS

09-16-2015

VICTORIA SHAHAN and GEORGE SHAHAN, Plaintiff, v. BAYHEALTH MEDICAL CENTER, INC. and DELMARVA EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS, LLP, Defendant.

cc: Prothonotary (Civil) James E. Drnec, Esquire Gilbert F. Shelsby, Jr., Esquire

Fred S. Silverman Judge

TRIAL BY JURY OF 12 DEMANDED

ORDER

Upon Review of the Affidavit of Merit

On August 7, 2015, Defendants moved to have the court review Plaintiffs' affidavit of merit, in camera, to determine whether it complies with 18 Del. C. § 6853(a)(1) and (c).¹

1 18 Del. C. § 6853(d).

In Delaware, a healthcare negligence lawsuit must be filed with an affidavit of merit, signed by an expert, and accompanied by the expert's curriculum vitae ² The expert must be licensed to practice medicine as of the affidavit's date and engaged in the same or similar field as the defendant in the three years immediately preceding the alleged negligence.³ The affidavit must state that reasonable grounds exist to believe the defendant was negligent in a way that proximately caused the plaintiff's injury.⁴

2 Id. § 6853(a)(1).

3 Id. § 6853(c).

4 Id.

The statute's requirements are minimal. Accordingly, an affidavit of merit tracking the statutory language complies with the statute.⁵

5 See Dishmon v. Fucci, 32 A.3d 338, 342 (Del. 2011) ("In order to satisfy the prima facie burden, an Affidavit of Merit must only contain an expert's sworn statement that medical negligence occurred, along with confirmation that he or she is qualified to proffer a medical opinion."). --------

Plaintiffs' affidavit addresses both Defendants. After in camera review, the court finds:

1. An expert signed the affidavit;

2. A current curriculum vitae was filed with the affidavit;

3. The expert is Board certified in Emergency Medicine;

4. At the time the affidavit was sworn, the expert was a licensed physician who treated patients and/or taught in the same or similar field of medicine as the Defendants within the three years preceding the alleged negligence;

5. The affidavit states, with reasonable medical probability, that there are grounds to believe the applicable standard of care was breached by both Defendants;

6. The expert states Defendants' breach proximately caused Plaintiff's injuries.

Considering the above, the court finds that the affidavit of merit complies with 18 Del. C. § 6853(a) and (c) as to both Defendants.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ Fred S. Silverman

Judge cc: Prothonotary (Civil)

James E. Drnec, Esquire

Gilbert F. Shelsby, Jr., Esquire