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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 779 September Term, 2005 ___________________________________

NICOLE WILBON, ET AL. v. FRANKLIN HUNSICKER, ET AL. ___________________________________

Eyler, James R., Woodward, Moylan, Charles E., Jr.,
(Retired, Specially Assigned),

JJ. ___________________________________ Opinion by Woodward, J. ___________________________________

Filed: December 29, 2006

REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 779 September Term, 2005 ___________________________________

NICOLE WILBON, ET AL. v. FRANKLIN HUNSICKER, ET AL. ___________________________________

Eyler, James R., Woodward, Moylan, Charles E., Jr.,
(Retired, Specially Assigned),

JJ. ___________________________________ Opinion by Woodward, J. ___________________________________

Filed:

On June 5, 2000, at around 1:15 p.m., Baltimore City police officers took Joseph Wilbon into custody for an alleged attempted theft of a vehicle. Later, at about 2:30 p.m., the police

transported Wilbon to the emergency room because his behavior was bizarre and indicated that he required medical attention. Wilbon

suffered a seizure while waiting for treatment in the emergency room and was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. a cardiac arrhythmia. Wilbon's daughter, Nicole Wilbon, then filed suit, The cause of death was

individually and as the personal representative of Wilbon's estate, against the officers who arrested and transported her father to the hospital. Plaintiff1 alleged, inter alia, that the officers' delay in obtaining medical attention caused Wilbon's death. The case

proceeded to trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and resulted in a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff. Plaintiff and

defendants appeal that judgment for multiple reasons. We will summarize the factual and procedural background in this case before identifying the issues presented on appeal. BACKGROUND On June 5, 2000, at about 1:06 p.m., Officer Jeffrey E. Mathena, Jr. and Officer Trainee Franklin Hunsicker were dispatched to an alley behind a home at 757 Bartlett Avenue to investigate a man who allegedly was "trying to get into several [cars]" and

At various times in the record and the parties' briefs, plaintiff is referred to in the plural. Because there is only one plaintiff, albeit suing in two different capacities, we will refer to the plaintiff in the singular.

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appeared to be homeless.

The officers arrived at the scene three According to

minutes later and found Wilbon sitting in a car.

Officer Mathena, Wilbon responded to police questions that he did not own the vehicle and did not have permission to be in the vehicle. around Officer Hunsicker assisted Wilbon out of the car and, at p.m., the officers placed him under arrest for

1:15

attempted theft of the vehicle. There was evidence that Wilbon had urinated and defecated on himself, and that he was not wearing shoes. Officers Mathena and Hunsicker then returned to the Eastern District police station to process Wilbon's charging documents, while Wilbon was transported by Officer Mark Greeff to the Central Booking and Intake Facility ("CBIF"). Wilbon arrived at CBIF at

about 1:30 p.m. At CBIF, the posted officers noticed that Wilbon's toe was bleeding, his face was discolored, he was soiled, and he was unresponsive. The EMT on duty evaluated Wilbon and directed The EMT signed an

that he receive medical attention at a hospital. "EMT Send Out Sheet" at 2:02 p.m. Officer Mathena was notified at 2:25

p.m.

by

a

police

dispatcher to respond to CBIF to take Wilbon to the hospital. Officers Mathena, Hunsicker, and Greeff complied and arrived at CBIF sometime before 2:30 p.m. Upon arrival, Officer Mathena

apparently told the booking officer, Lieutenant Reginald Street, that he did not want to take Wilbon to the hospital and then tried

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to convince Lieutenant Street to keep Wilbon at CBIF.

At 2:30

p.m., Officer Mathena called his supervisor, Lieutenant Michael J. McKnight, about the "problem" at CBIF. Lieutenant McKnight spoke

with the duty EMT, who told him that Wilbon "was under the influence of cocaine and needed to be taken to the hospital for a shot of narcan." transport Wilbon Lieutenant McKnight advised to the hospital, and Officer Mathena to arrived at the

Wilbon

emergency room of Mercy Hospital at approximately 2:50 p.m. Officer Mathena began to fill out the necessary paperwork to register Wilbon, who sat in the waiting room. went into a seizure. Wilbon yelled and

He was taken to the treatment area, where he The medical examiner determined arrhythmia associated with The

was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. that Wilbon died of "a

cardiac

atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and past cocaine use."

examiner found "significant atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease" and "the presence of cocaine and cocaine metabolites in the urine." On June 2, 2003, almost three years after Wilbon's death, plaintiff filed her complaint in the circuit court. She named

Officers Hunsicker and Mathena as defendants2 and alleged battery, false arrest and imprisonment, gross negligence, negligence (based on a theory of respondeat superior), and violation of Articles 24 and 26 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Plaintiff also sued

Other defendants were named, but eventually were dismissed by agreement of the parties or court order.

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defendants in survival and wrongful death actions. compensatory and punitive damages.

She sought

As set forth more fully in the discussion section herein, defendants responded to the complaint with a motion to dismiss, in which they argued, inter alia, that plaintiff had not complied with the notice requirement of the Local Government Tort Claims Act ("LGTCA"). See Md. Code (1973, 2002 Repl. Vol., Supp. 2006),

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