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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** GLORIA TRIMEL v. LAWRENCE & MEMORIAL HOSPITAL REHABILITATION CENTER ET AL. (AC 19675)
Foti, Schaller and Dupont, Js. Argued September 15, 2000--officially released January 16, 2001 Counsel

William F. Gallagher, with whom, on the brief, was Thomas J. Airone, for the appellant (plaintiff). Michael E. Driscoll, with whom, on the brief, was Jeffrey F. Buebendorf, for the appellees (defendants).
Opinion

SCHALLER, J. The plaintiff, Gloria Trimel, appeals from the judgment of the trial court rendered after it granted the motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants, Lawrence & Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Center (Lawrence & Memorial) and Flanders Health Center (Flanders). On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly granted the motion because the court incorrectly characterized her claim as sounding in medical malpractice rather than in ordinary negligence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts are relevant to our discussion of this issue. The plaintiff suffers from multiple sclerosis and has been confined to a wheelchair since 1990. The defendants provided the plaintiff's regimen of physical therapy, which she attended on a regular basis starting in 1995. The physical therapy sessions included ``transfers'' to and from a wheelchair. One method of transfer involved the use of a transfer board, which permitted the plaintiff to move unassisted from the wheelchair to another location. The plaintiff eventually learned to perform transfers without assistance. Although she performed the transfers without assistance, she did so in the presence of a physical therapist. See footnote 4. On October 22, 1995, while attending a physical therapy session at Flanders, which is a satellite clinic of Lawrence & Memorial, the plaintiff attempted to use her transfer board to maneuver from her wheelchair to an exercise mat where the therapy session would begin. During that maneuver, the plaintiff fell from the wheelchair and sustained injuries. As a result of the incident, the plaintiff filed a two count complaint, alleging that her injuries resulted from the negligence of her therapist, Maryann Mills, and Mills' employers, Lawrence & Memorial and Flanders. The defendants responded by filing a motion for summary judgment, supported by affidavits of Mills and Lawrence & Memorial Hospital chief operating officer, Cynthia Kane, and the transcript of the deposition testimony of the plaintiff and Mills. The court granted the motion, concluding that the action sounded in medical malpractice and, therefore, required the filing of a certificate of good faith pursuant to General Statutes

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Connecticut Law