Background
Katherine Kennedy sued Oceans Behavioral Hospital after her husband, Huey Kennedy, who had dementia and was housed in a secured unit, left the facility unnoticed. She alleged that staff took more than an hour to notify law enforcement after discovering he was missing. He was found dead in a ditch less than a half-mile from the hospital about 24 hours later.
Her petition alleged failures to monitor custodial patients, conduct rounds, secure doors, act promptly after discovering a missing patient, and provide a safe setting. Oceans, a qualified health care provider under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, filed an exception of prematurity because Kennedy had not first submitted the claims to a medical review panel.
The Court’s Holding
The First Circuit affirmed dismissal without prejudice. It held that the petition’s allegations sound in medical malpractice under the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act and therefore had to be presented to a medical review panel before suit could proceed in district court.
Applying the Coleman factors, the court concluded that the alleged failures to supervise and conduct custodial rounds for a dementia patient were treatment-related and within the hospital’s licensed activities. Expert evidence would likely be needed to establish appropriate monitoring intervals, and the alleged injury arose from Kennedy’s confinement and care as a patient. The court did not treat the allegations as an intentional tort.
Key Takeaways
- Claims alleging inadequate monitoring and custodial rounds for a dementia patient can constitute medical malpractice.
- A qualified Louisiana health care provider may use an exception of prematurity when a malpractice claim was not first submitted to a medical review panel.
- Allegations that may also resemble ordinary negligence remain subject to the Act when the petition states a medical-malpractice claim.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that the factual substance of a petition—not its labels—controls whether the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act applies. Claims tied to patient supervision, safety measures, and monitoring during confinement may require the Act’s pre-suit medical-review-panel process.