Univ. of Miss. Med. Ctr. v. McGee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Mississippi addressed the statute of limitations for survival and wrongful-death claims under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act. It held that the survival claims accrued when the retained surgical sponge was discovered on September 7, 2004, and were time-barred, while the wrongful-death claim accrued on the decedent’s death and was timely because the notice of claim tolled the limitations period. The court reversed and rendered summary judgment for UMMC on the survival claim, affirmed denial of summary judgment on the wrongful-death claim, and remanded.

Holdings

1. The statute of limitations for Williams's survival claims began to run on September 7, 2004, when the negligent act, injury, and causal connection were known or discoverable, and those claims were barred because notice was not provided within one year.
2. The wrongful-death claim belonging to McGee began to accrue, at the earliest, on December 19, 2004, the date Williams died.
3. McGee's notice, received by UMMC on November 28, 2005, was timely and tolled the limitations period for ninety-five days; the wrongful-death claim, filed within the additional ninety-day period, could proceed.
4. Caves and Jenkins applied retroactively because Mississippi judicial decisions generally apply retroactively unless the court expressly limits a ruling to prospective application.

Questions Presented

1. When did the Mississippi Tort Claims Act statute of limitations begin to run on the survival claims that Williams could have brought before her death?
2. When did the statute of limitations begin to run on McGee's wrongful-death claim?
3. Did McGee's notice of claim toll the limitations period sufficiently to make the wrongful-death claim timely?
4. Was UMMC entitled to summary judgment on the survival claims?

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded