Willie Johnson, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Lydia Darnell v. Brookwood Medical Center and David H. Jackson, M.D.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed summary judgment for Brookwood Medical Center and Dr. David H. Jackson in Willie Johnson's medical-malpractice and wrongful-death action. The court held that the wrongful-death claim was subject to Alabama's two-year wrongful-death limitations period and was time-barred because the claims against the defendants did not relate back to the original complaint. The court also declined to consider the asserted fraudulent-concealment theory because it had not been presented to the circuit court as a separate claim.

Holdings

1. The two-year limitations period in Ala. Code § 6-5-410 applies to wrongful-death actions alleging medical malpractice; the medical-liability limitations period in § 6-5-482 does not control.
2. The court would not consider Johnson's argument that fraudulent concealment or suppression constituted a separate cause of action because he raised that argument for the first time on appeal; his complaint presented only a wrongful-death claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Alabama's two-year wrongful-death limitations period, rather than the medical-liability limitations period and its discovery provision, governed Johnson's claim alleging wrongful death caused by medical malpractice.
2. Whether Johnson preserved and presented a separate claim for fraudulent concealment or suppression of a wrongful-death cause of action that could avoid the wrongful-death limitations period.

Disposition

affirmed