Attorneys aim to revive malpractice suit against radiologist using state’s ‘long-arm statute’
Attorneys for the estate of a deceased Florida woman are attempting to revive a malpractice lawsuit against a New York radiologist using the Sunshine State’s “long-arm statute.”
Jennifer Palmer had a tumor removed from her thigh at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center while living in New York between 2012 and 2015. She later moved to Orlando, Florida, and continued her treatment elsewhere but died from cancer in 2021 at age 34 after the disease spread to her bones.
Palmer’s family sued MSK and two of its physicians—radiologist Sinchun Hwang, MD, and surgeon S. Sunghyun Yoon, MD—claiming they overlooked signs the cancer was spreading on MR imaging. The two physicians also allegedly waited weeks to schedule a follow-up visit, attorneys charged.
However, a trial court dismissed the complaint, noting that the Florida court does not have jurisdiction over the New York-based defendants. Last year, the Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, with plaintiff attorneys now appealing to the Florida Supreme Court. They’re attempting to use Florida’s long-arm statute, which allows local courts to exercise jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants.
“A central issue in [Palmer's mother] Janet Thorpe v. Memorial Sloan Kettering, et al. is whether medical records the doctors forwarded to the woman’s Florida physicians meet the statutory definition of ‘products, materials, or things processed, serviced, or manufactured,’” the Florida Bar noted in a news update about the case, published Monday.
Previously, the Court of Appeals found that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a “temporal” connection between the Florida and New York treatments. According to the long-arm statute, such a connection is defined as “at or about the time of injury.” Plaintiff attorneys are charging that it’s not possible to determine the exact day when a patient contracts cancer.
West Palm Beach lawyer Kara Rockenbach and colleagues are asking to have the long-arm statute apply to radiology reports transmitted from New York to Florida. However, defense attorneys and Florida Supreme Court justices charge that the statute is geared more toward product liability, rather than medical malpractice.
“The statute connotes physical, tangible handling of products for manufacturing. It does not involve an opinion or thoughts from a doctor,” Gerard Collins, an Orlando-based attorney representing the radiologist and MSK, said according to the Florida Bar news update.
More on the case
Jennifer Palmer lived in Florida between 1987 to 2012 and later moved back in 2015, remaining there until her death in 2021. Between 2012 and 2015, she stayed in New York and visited Memorial Sloan Kettering for a consultation regarding a left proximal media thigh mass, according to the complaint.
After testing revealed cancer, surgeon Dr. Yoon removed the mass, with the patient undergoing various follow-up tests. These included an MRI interpreted by radiologist Dr. Hwang. The scan purportedly showed that the cancer had spread to her bones. However, despite this, Yoon allegedly did not see Palmer for a follow-up appointment until three weeks after the MRI was performed. Yoon also allegedly failed to identify additional signs the cancer had spread, and to order further testing and treatment.
In 2016, after Palmer moved back to Florida, Yoon referred the patient to a new doctor at a cancer treatment center in Orlando. Ultimately, the cancer spread into her bone marrow, leading to her eventual death in 2021. Palmer and her husband filed the complaint prior to her death, also naming other defendants, including the Florida-based specialist. But the original complaint was dismissed, based on a lack of personal jurisdiction.
Janet Thorpe, Palmer’s mother, later filed a second amended complaint, again losing in court due to a lack of personal jurisdiction. On appeal, plaintiff attorneys have argued the trial court erred because the court possessed the “long arm jurisdiction” over the radiologist and surgeon in New York.
“Appellant argues that Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Dr. Yoon and Dr. Hwang all had sufficient minimum contacts with Florida such that subjecting them to personal jurisdiction in Florida would not have denied them due process,” the complaint charges.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.