SC04-380 – Southern Baptist Hospital Of Florida, Inc., Etc. v. Jeffrey W. Welker

State: Florida

Docket No: SC04-380

Case Date: 04/14/2005

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC04-380 ____________ SOUTHERN BAPTIST HOSPITAL OF FLORIDA, INC., etc., Petitioner, vs. JEFFREY W. WELKER, Respondent. [April 14, 2005] PER CURIAM. We have for review Welker v. Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc., 864 So. 2d 1178 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), in which the First District Court of Appeal certified the following question as a matter of great public importance: DOES FLORIDA'S IMPACT RULE PRECLUDE THE RECOVERY OF DAMAGES FOR EMOTIONAL INJURIES IN A NEGLIGENCE CASE ALLEGING THAT THE DEFENDANT'S ACTIONS WRONGFULLY CAUSED THE PLAINTIFF TO LOSE CUSTODY OF HIS CHILDREN AND ALL OTHER PARENTAL RIGHTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD?

Id. at 1188. We have jurisdiction.1 Because we have determined that the issue of whether the complaint states a recognized cause of action has never been properly raised, briefed or argued, we decline to address the certified question, which assumes the existence of a valid cause of action. We further decline to address whether count three of the amended complaint constitutes a medical malpractice claim that is subject to the presuit requirements of section 766.106, Florida Statutes (1999). I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The present case arises from a letter that was written by Valerie Brink, a licensed mental health counselor who was employed by Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. (Southern Baptist). Jeffrey W. Welker filed a three-count amended complaint against Southern Baptist as a result of this letter. The complaint alleged that on July 20, 1999, Brink wrote a letter in which she diagnosed Welker's two minor children with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and recommended that Welker's contact with his children cease immediately because such contact was "psychologically harmful" and posed a "serious threat of bodily harm." The letter specifically enumerated multiple events in which the children had claimed acts of physical abuse by Welker toward them and several of Welker's girlfriends. Welker's former wife, Penelope Donham, used Brink's letter to obtain an

1. See art. V,

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