Snyder v. United States of America
Filing
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ORDER that Defendant's 19 Motion to Dismiss is granted. Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint on or before May 22, 2013. Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 5/2/2013.(LFIG)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Patricia Snyder,
No. CV-12-01405-PHX-DGC
Plaintiff,
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v.
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ORDER
United States of America,
Defendant.
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On March 27, 2013, the United States of America (“Defendant” or “the
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Government”) filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
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Doc. 19. Plaintiff Patricia Snyder filed a response on April 8, 2013 (Doc. 21), and the
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Government filed a reply on April 17, 2013 (Doc. 23). No party sought oral argument.
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For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Government’s motion to dismiss.
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I.
Background.
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John Snyder, Plaintiff’s husband, died on July 27, 2010 in his spa. Doc. 1 ¶ 14.
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The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was asphyxia due to accidental
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drowning. Id. Prior to his death, Mr. Snyder had received both outpatient and inpatient
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medical treatment at the Phoenix Veterans Administration Health Care System (VA).
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Plaintiff alleges that her husband was the victim of medical malpractice during his
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treatment and that the treatment led to his death. She now brings this action against the
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United States pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (“FTCA”), for
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medical malpractice and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
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II.
Legal Standard.
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When analyzing a complaint for failure to state a claim Rule 12(b)(6), the well-
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pled factual allegations are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the
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nonmoving party. Cousins v. Lockyer, 568 F.3d 1063, 1067 (9th Cir. 2009). Legal
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conclusions couched as factual allegations are not entitled to the assumption of truth,
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Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 680 (2009), and they are insufficient to defeat a motion
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to dismiss for failure to state a claim, In re Cutera Sec. Litig., 610 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th
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Cir. 2010). To avoid a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, the complaint must plead “enough facts
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to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
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544, 570 (2007).
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III.
Analysis.
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Negligence.
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The liability of the United States under the FTCA is determined in accordance
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with the law of the state where the allegedly negligent act occurred. Miller v. United
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States, 945 F.2d 1464, 1466 (9th Cir. 1991). In Arizona, a negligence claim requires a
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Plaintiff to prove “(1) a duty requiring the defendant to conform to a certain standard of
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care; (2) a breach by the defendant of that standard; (3) a causal connection between the
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defendant’s conduct and the resulting injury; and (4) actual damages.” Gipson v. Kasey,
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150 P.3d 228, 230 (2007).
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The complaint in this case mentions many doctors who treated Mr. Snyder and
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generally asserts that they engaged in various forms of misconduct. The Court cannot
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find, however, that any claim against any individual adequately pleads all four of the
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required elements under Arizona law. Plaintiff has not pled the relevant standard of care,
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nor has she pled specific facts as to how any of the individual doctors breached that
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standard.
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Furthermore, even if Plaintiff had articulated a negligence claim against an
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individual doctor, she has not shown how any of the alleged negligence during treatment
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caused Mr. Snyder’s death. A defendant’s acts are the proximate cause of a plaintiff’s
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injury only if they are a substantial factor in bringing about the harm and the injury would
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not have occurred but for the defendant’s negligent conduct. Barret v. Harris, 86 P.3d
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954, 961 (Ariz. App. 2004). Here, the medical examiner determined that Mr. Snyder died
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of accidental drowning. The complaint does not show how misdiagnosis or malpractice
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at the hospital could have led to that result. The Court will dismiss the negligence claim
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for failure to state a claim.
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2.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress.
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In Arizona, negligent infliction of emotional distress requires that a plaintiff:
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“(1) witness an injury to a closely related person, (2) suffer mental anguish manifested as
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a physical injury, and (3) be within the zone of danger so as to be subject to an
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unreasonable risk of bodily harm created by the defendant.” Pierce v. Casas Adobes
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Baptist Church, 782 P.2d 1162, 1165 (Ariz. 1989) (citations omitted).
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Plaintiff claims that she suffered emotional distress as a result of watching her
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husband experience health problems that were exacerbated by the alleged negligence.
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Accepting her claims as true, Plaintiff has not pled that she was within a “zone of danger
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so as to be subject to an unreasonable risk of bodily harm created by the defendant.” Id.
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Plaintiff has pled no facts that demonstrate that her own safety was ever in question.
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Plaintiff was not a patient subject to the allegedly negligent medical care. Accordingly
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the Court will dismiss this claim with prejudice.
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IV.
Leave to amend.
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The Court will dismiss the negligence claim with leave to amend. Should Plaintiff
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choose to amend her complaint, she should identify which specific doctors breached the
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duty of care, the specific acts of each doctor that breached the duty, and how each alleged
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breach proximately caused Mr. Snyder’s death.
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IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 19) is granted.
Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint on or before May 22, 2013.
Dated this 2nd day of May, 2013.
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