Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A Michigan appellate court held that a patient’s claims against an MRI provider for injuries she sustained during an MRI constitute claims for ordinary, not medical, negligence.

Eva LaFave underwent an MRI in a mobile MRI unit parked near a hospital. She was injured when she fell off the MRI table as the technician went into the next room to call for assistance. LaFave sued Alliance Healthcare Services, Inc., which employed the technician, alleging ordinary negligence and medical malpractice. The defense moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff’s claims sounded in medical malpractice and that she had failed to offer sufficient evidence on the defendant’s breach of the standard of care. The trial court granted the motion.

Reversing, the appellate court found that a claim sounds in medical malpractice where it pertains to an action occurring within the course of a professional relationship and raises questions of medical judgment beyond the realm of common understanding. Citing case law, the court said that medical malpractice cases may be brought only against persons or entities capable of malpractice, which the legislature defined as licensed health care professionals and facilities and their employees. Here, the court said, the defendant’s technician is not a licensed health care provider because she is not licensed or registered under article 15 of the state’s public health code, and the hospital at which the mobile MRI unit was parked is not a party to the case. Although the MRI technician is certified, she is not licensed for purposes of article 15, the court said.

Thus, the court concluded that because the defendant and its technician are not capable of committing malpractice, the plaintiff’s claims sound in ordinary, not medical negligence. Consequently, the court remanded.

Citation: LaFave v. Alliance Health Servs., Inc., 2020 WL 1649799 (Mich. Ct. App. Apr. 2, 2020).

Plaintiff counsel: Stephanie Arndt, Southfield, Mich.