Professional Negligence Law Reporter

An Ohio appellate court held that a claim arising out of a fall during the use of a commode constitutes a medical claim under state law.

Martha Starcher, a resident of Mentor Ridge Health and Rehabilitation, fell and suffered fractures while two aides were assisting her to a commode from her wheelchair. Her estate sued Mentor Ridge Health, alleging negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defense on limitations grounds.

Affirming, the court noted that under Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2305.113(A), medical negligence claims are subject to a one-year limitations period. Ordinary negligence claims, it added, are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. The court found that §2305.113(E)(3) defines the term medical claim, in part, as one arising out of skilled nursing care or personal care services provided in a home under a plan of care, medical diagnosis, or treatment. An amendment to the law in 2015 established that medical claims were no longer limited to injuries resulting from an act or omission related to a medical test or procedure, the court said.

Applying these principles, the court found that assistance with a daily activity such as toiling constitutes a personal care service and is included in the definition of medical claim as intended by the legislature. Consequently, the plaintiff’s claim, which was subject to a one-year limitations period, was properly time-barred.

Citation: Smith v. Mentor Ridge Health & Rehab., 2023 WL 8853052 (Ohio. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2023).