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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 10

September Term 2005

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ELIE G . DEBB AS, et al. V. THEL MA N ELSO N, et al. __________________________________

Bell, C.J. Raker Wilner Cathell Harrell Battaglia Greene, JJ.

Opinion by Battaglia, J.

Filed:

November 9, 2005

This case prese nts us with the task of d etermining whether a facially valid C ertificate of Qualified Expert, a prerequisite to instituting a medical malpractice action, can be invalidated by subseque nt develop ments, spec ifically the allegedly inconsistent deposition testimony of the certifying medical expert. W e hold that the Health C are Malpractice Claims Act does not permit such collateral attack s based on events arising after the Certificate has been filed. As such, Respondents' Certif icate of Q ualified Ex pert was n ot substantially defective, and the Circuit Court erroneously granted Petitioner D r. Elie Debba s's motion to dismiss and Petition er Fort W ashington Hospital's motion for summary judgment on that basis. We have also been asked to explore whethe r a genuine d ispute of m aterial fact exis ts regarding the v icari ous l iabil ity of Petitioner Fort W ashington Hospital. W e find that a genuine dispute of material fact remains concerning whether the defendant physicians were agents of th e Ho spita l for the p urpo ses o f vic arious lia bility. Therefore, we conclude that the Circuit C ourt erro neous ly granted the Ho spital's m otion fo r summ ary judgm ent. We shall affirm the decision of the Court of Special Appeals. Facts On May 10, 2000, Madeline V. Lyons wen t to the emergency room at Fort Washington Hosp ital com plaining of we akness and fa tigue. D r. Hengameh N. Mesbahi examined her, ordered various blood tests, and diagnosed Ms. Lyons with mild anemia. He wrote her a prescription for iron sup plements and adv ised her to follow up w ith her primary care physician, Dr. Michae l Sidarous. Two d ays later, Ms. Lyons visited Dr. Sidarous and

presented symptoms similar to those about which she had complained during her emergency room examina tion. Dr. Sida rous diagn osed M s. Lyons with mild cong estive heart failure, prescribed medication , and informed her that she should return to the Hospital if her symptoms worse ned. In the early hours of May 16, 20 00, Ms. L yons awok e with acu te burning abdomin al pain and within several hours was admitted to the emergency room at the Hospital, where she w as treate d by Dr. P atrick W. Daly, Director of the H ospital's Emergency Medical De partment, Dr. Sidarous, and Dr. Elie G. Debbas, Chief of Surgery at the Ho spital an d the the n Presid ent of th e Med ical Staf f. She d ied later th at even ing. On April 8, 2002, Ms. Lyons's surviving five daughters (the "Respondents") filed a Statement of Claim against Dr. Debbas, Dr. Sidarous, and th e Hospita l with the H ealth Claims Arbitration O ffice ("H CAO "), pursuan t to the Ma ryland Health Care M alpractice Claims Act ("the A ct"), Md. C ode (197 4, 1998 R epl. Vol., 2000 Supp.),

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Maryland Law