December 28, 2018- Maria Cummings v. Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico, No. A-1-CA-35800

OCR transcription for search; preserved printed pages are authoritative

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Opinion Number:

Filing Date: December 28, 2018

No. A-1-CA-35800

MARIA CUMMINGS, Individually

and as Personal Representative of

the ESTATE OF SHAUN MICHAEL
CHAVEZ; JANA VALLEJOS, Individually
and as Personal Representative of the
ESTATE OF DONOVAN VALLEJOS; and
LEON SALAZAR, Individually, on behalf
of themselves and all others similarly
situated,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.

BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, a

body corporate of the State of New Mexico,
for itself and its public operations, including

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH
SCIENCES CENTER, and its components, THE
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HOSPITAL,

and UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE,

Defendants-Appellees.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico
Filed 12/28/2018 10:04 AM

MF

Mark Reynolds

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY

Alan M. Malott, District Judge

Vigil Law Firm, P.A.
Jacob G. Vigil
Albuquerque, NM

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Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A.
Joseph Goldberg

Frank T. Davis

Albuquerque, NM

for Appellants

Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A.
Edward Ricco

Leslie McCarthy Apodaca

Andrew G. Schultz

Nelson Franse

Albuquerque, NM

Walz & Associates
Jerry Walz
Albuquerque, NM

for Appellees

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OPINION
VIGIL, Judge.
43} Plaintiffs, Maria Cummings, individually and as personal representative of the
estate of her son Shaun Michael Chavez, brought a class action complaint for
medical and other negligence against Defendants (UNMH) resulting from treatment
provided to pediatric cancer patients at UNMH. Plaintiffs appeal from an order of
the district court dismissing their claims on grounds that UNMH did not receive
notice of Plaintiffs’ claims as required by the Tort Claims Act (TCA), NMSA 1978,
Section 41-4-16 (1977). We conclude that Plaintiffs provided UNMH with written
notice of their claims in compliance with the TCA and reverse. Because we reverse
on this basis, we do not address Plaintiffs’ remaining arguments.
BACKGROUND
I. The UNMH Investigation of Its Pediatric Oncology Program
2} In 1987, after a review of UNMH’s pediatric cancer program conducted by
physicians from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School,
UNMH received a letter stating that UNMH was not employing standard protocols
in treating its pediatric cancer patients and “[s]trongly encourage[d] that all children
with cancer be treated on protocols if at all possible.” On March 3, 1997, Dr. Jami
Frost, a physician in the pediatric cancer program at UNMH, wrote a letter to the
Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. John Johnson, expressing concern about

UNMHW’s treatment of pediatric cancer patients. The letter states:

OWT ANNA BWN

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Dr. Winter and I have identified several of our patients who are

presently receiving non-standard treatment for their high risk ALL.

This treatment, known as LSA2L2, was standard therapy for children

in the 1970s. Since that time, several research trials have proven that

this treatment is not as effective in providing long-term disease-free

survival for children with high risk leukemia. . . . It appears that children

treated at UNM Pediatric Oncology Program have been treated on this

same protocol for many years, without any changes made in regard to

availability of more effective therapy.

I have contacted two nationally recognized experts in the treatment of

childhood leukemia. . . . Both of these consultants agree that this

treatment is substandard. Both agreed that it is not medically ethical to

continue these patients on this protocol|[.]
3}. On May 13, 1997, Dr. Frost followed up with a memorandum addressed to
Dr. Johnson and other UNMH administrators, including the Dean of the University
of New Mexico Medical School, Paul Roth, discussing the findings of her
investigation into the treatment of pediatric cancer patients at UNMH between
approximately 1980-1997. Dr. Frost’s memorandum indicated that the survival rate
for these patients was “well below published national rates.” Dr. Frost’s
memorandum was accompanied by a list of 217 pediatric cancer patients whose
treatment was reviewed and who were currently receiving treatment, with an
acknowledgment that the list may not be exhaustive of all pediatric cancer patients
treated at UNMH between 1980 and 1997. Shaun is not on the list.
{4} In response to Dr. Frost’s letter and memorandum, UNMH began an internal

investigation into the treatment of pediatric cancer patients by Dr. Marilyn Duncan,

M.D. for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). On April 9, 1998, UNMH notified
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at least two of its patient health insurance carriers that Dr. Duncan had been placed
on extended leave and was no longer seeing patients while UNMH conducted an
investigation into her treatment of pediatric cancer patients, which “apparently was
not a treatment recommended by national pediatric oncology clinical trials groups.”
UNMH emphasized that “we are sending you this notice, because you need to be
aware of [Dr. Duncan’s] status in the event that [you] receive[] calls regarding
her.... [UNMH] is presently conducting a comprehensive investigation of this
matter and is attempting to determine its implications for both our patients and our
institution.”

{5} Dr. Cristina Beato, the Assistant or Associate Dean of UNMH, stated that as
part of UNMH’s investigation, she “instructed employees of UNMH to call certain
patients treated for ALL by Dr. Duncan, as well as families of patients so treated,
and inform them that they or their children may not have received the recommended
treatment for their ALL.” Ms. Cummings was not contacted.

{6} In making these calls, Dr. Beato instructed the callers to “complete a
‘telephone work sheet’ ” or script. These scripts are marked “ATTORNEY-CLIENT
PRIVILEGED[.]” One script dated March 29, 1998, titled “Child has died script[,]”
prompts the caller to say “[w]e are contacting families of children treated for
leukemia here, because it now appears that at least some of the children did not

receive all of the treatment that was recommended at the time the children were

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being seen.” The script includes “possible appropriate answers” to patients’ families
concerning the physician who treated their child, which are limited to “I’m sorry I

don’t have any first-hand knowledge about that” and “I’m not in administration and

I just don’t have any first-hand information about that.” The script also contains a
section titled “WHAT NOT TO TALK ABOUT[.]” The points under this heading
direct:
1. Do not volunteer anything about who was prescribing or
supervising the treatment.
2. Don’t get into the specifics of which protocols were or were not
followed.
3. Don’t make any statements about what effect the problems may
or may not have caused in the treatment of children—there are
too many variables of treatment to even attempt this fairly at this
point.
4, Don’t say anything about how the problem was uncovered—you
have no first-hand information about that, and that the matter is
under internal investigation and [is] the subject of a personnel
action.
{7} Similarly, another script titled “Script 2b — Child who was in remission, but
has suffered a relapse and is currently in treatment” states that “[t]he physician who

made the decisions on how to treat pediatric oncology patients at UNM for many
years and who was responsible for selecting the treatment to be provided to your
child, is now on extended leave and is no longer seeing patients. However, we have

learned that this physician did not select treatment for your child that was the

[\e) —

—- COWAAANANA ied)

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treatment recommended at that time by a national clinical trials group supported by

the National Cancer Institute [called the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG)].” The

script goes on to state:

Il.

{8}

action complaint against UNMH, which we refer to as the Lovato class action,
grounded on the alleged negligence of Dr. Duncan in her evaluation, care, and
treatment of pediatric cancer patients at UNMH. On June 1, 2001, a second class
action complaint was filed by the estate of Christopher Joseph Sedillo against

UNMH, which we refer to as the Sedillo class action. The Sedillo class action was

UNM is in the process of investigating why your child and
certain others with ALL did not receive the treatment recommended by
POG. In August 1996, two new pediatric oncologists . . . joined our
staff. As they became more familiar with the treatments that had been
provided in the past, they, along with nurses, pharmacists and social
workers of the pediatric oncology team, began to raise concerns about
therapy choices for children with ALL, which led us to reexamine the
treatment given to your child.

Although the physician who chose the treatment for your child
did not select the POG-recommended treatment, even though that
physician was a member of POG and very knowledgeable about its
recommended treatment protocols, the physician apparently believed
the treatment being prescribed for your child would be equally
effective. We do not know if that treatment was equally effective for
your child.

The Litigation Against UNMH

On February 27, 2001, the estate of Steven Lawrence Lovato filed a class

grounded on the same alleged negligence of Dr. Duncan.

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493 On December 3, 2001, the Lovato class action plaintiffs filed a motion to
allow Plaintiffs to be joined as plaintiffs and additional class representatives. The
moving papers assert that the named plaintiff in the Lovato class action and Shaun
were both pediatric leukemia patients of Dr. Duncan and members of the putative
class. The motion was granted. For reasons not pertinent to the appeal, the Lovato
plaintiffs were later dismissed from the Lovato class action, and the caption was
amended to reflect that Plaintiffs were henceforth the plaintiffs in the Lovato class
action. The operative complaint in this appeal is the third amended Lovato class
action complaint in which Plaintiffs are named as plaintiffs and class representatives.
{10} UUNMH subsequently filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint, alleging
that Plaintiffs failed to provide notice of their claims as required by the TCA. After
Plaintiffs responded, the district court granted the motion to dismiss on the basis that
Plaintiffs are “unable to establish that UNM[H] was ever given timely notice by
Plaintiff Cummings, on her own behalf or on behalf of Shaun Cummings, that there
was a likelihood of litigation stemming from the pediatric oncology facility’s
conduct.” Plaintiffs filed a motion to reconsider, which the district court denied. In
denying the motion to reconsider, the district court explained its reasoning was that
“regardless of when the time period for purposes of [TCA] notice began to run,”
Plaintiffs “failed to establish that UNM[H] was ever provided appropriate notice.”

{11} Initially, we observe that the district court used an incorrect standard in

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granting UNMH’s motion to dismiss. The burden was not on Plaintiffs to prove
proper notice under the TCA—it was UNMH’s burden to prove inadequate notice.
Dutton v. McKinley Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs, 1991-NMCA-130, 9 7, 113 N.M. 51, 822
P.2d 1134 (“[U]nder the [TCA] defendants have the burden of proving that the notice
requirement was not met.”). Plaintiffs appeal.

III. Facts Relating to Notice

{123 Shaun was born on January |, 1978. He was diagnosed with ALL when he
was eighteen months old, and was treated at UNMH by Dr. Duncan. In 1980, Shaun
moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio for about six months while Shaun’s ALL
was in remission, and then returned to New Mexico, where he relapsed. Shaun
continued treatment at UNMH, where he was placed on a LSA2L2 chemotherapy
regimen in December 1981. Shaun passed away on September 29, 1983, from
complications of ALL.

13}. In early January 2001, Ms. Cummings retained counsel to represent her in a
potential case against UNMH relating to Shaun’s care and treatment. When she met
with counsel, Ms. Cummings did not know what treatment protocols Shaun had
received at UNMH. At no time, while Shaun was being treated at UNMH, or after
he passed away, did UNMH notify Ms. Cummings that it had not followed nationally

recognized, proper treatment protocols when treating Shaun for ALL.

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{14} On February 22, 2001, counsel requested a complete copy of Shawn’s medical
records from UNMH. When the medical records were produced, they revealed that
Shaun was treated with a LSA2L2 protocol which, Ms. Cummings declared in an
affidavit, “was the subject of a class action case brought against UNMH by the
Sedillo family,” and “was the first time I learned that Shaun did not receive the
proper ALL treatment at UNMH.”

{15} Shortly after receiving Shaun’s medical records, Ms. Cummings signed an
affidavit under the caption of the Sedillo class action on July 24, 2001, which was
filed in the Lovato class action on July 26, 2001. The affidavit was filed in support
of a motion to consolidate the Sedillo class action into the Lovato class action. We
refer to this affidavit as the “notice affidavit” which we discuss in greater detail
below. The motion to consolidate was denied, but has no bearing on our analysis.
DISCUSSION

{16} To maintain a claim of damages against a governmental agency, the TCA
requires that the agency have notice of the claim. See Section 41-4-16. Among the
ways in which the notice requirement may be satisfied is by “written notice” that is
presented “to the risk management division for claims against the state” which stated
“the time, place and circumstances of the loss or injury.” Whether the district court
properly dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims for failing to comply with the TCA’s notice

requirement presents an issue of law, which we review de novo. See Herald v. Bd.

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of Regents of Univ. of N.M., 2015-NMCA-104, ff 21, 48-51, 357 P.3d 438 (applying
de novo review to order dismissing TCA claims for failing to comply with TCA
notice requirement); Smith v. State ex rel. N.M. Dep’t of Parks & Recreation, 1987-
NMCA-111, 4 15, 106 N.M. 368, 743 P.2d 124 (“[W]hether written notice is
sufficient is a question for the court.”). We discuss whether UNMH received written
notice as required by the TCA, then address whether that notice was timely.

IV. Sufficiency of the Written Notice

{17} In the notice affidavit, Ms. Cummings states: Shaun was diagnosed with ALL
when he was one and one-half years old; he was diagnosed and treated at UNMH on
the LSA2L2 regimen; it was Dr. Duncan who treated him; and Shaun died on
September 29, 1983. Ms. Cummings further states in the notice affidavit that she and
Shaun’s estate are members of the Lovato and Sedillo class actions, “and as such,
have an interest and are parties to the lawsuits.”

183 When the notice affidavit was filed in July 2001, the pending Lovato and
Sedillo class action complaints included allegations that Dr. Duncan was negligent
in her evaluation, consultation, care, and treatment of children suffering from cancer
from the time she commenced working at UNMH until she stopped practicing at
UNMH; that Dr. Duncan’s negligence resulted in the children suffering injuries and
death as well as damages to the parents of the children; that UNMH was vicariously

liable for Dr. Duncan’s negligence, as well as liable for its own negligence. Ms.

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Cummings individually, and as representative of Shaun’s estate, clearly falls within

the class described in the Lovato class action complaint which is described as

including “parents or other affected family members of a Duncan/UNMH patient”

as well as:
Any person who was seen by or whose medical care involved Dr.
Marilyn Duncan for the purpose of evaluation, consultation, treatment
and/or care for a medical condition involving any form of childhood
cancer from the first year she practiced medicine, or was employed
and/or had privileges to practice medicine at UNMH as a physician
specializing in the evaluation, consultation, care and treatment of
children suffering from cancer until the time she ceased to practice
medicine at UNMH.

Shaun’s estate is also included within the class described in the Sedillo class action

as including:
All patients diagnosed with ALL or AML [acute myleoblastic
leukemia] who Marilyn Duncan/UNMHSC actually treated with
chemotherapy for purposes of notice only.

{19} Counsel for UNMH, which Plaintiffs describe as “UNM’s (and its risk

management’s) litigation attorney,” both accepted service of the Lovato class action

complaint and was served with the notice affidavit in the Lovato class action.

720} The Lovato class action complaint, filed on February 27, 2001, clearly

provided UNMH with notice of claims against it arising from allegations of fact that

Dr. Duncan was negligent in evaluating, consulting, care, and treating all of her

pediatric cancer patients during the entire time she was employed by UNMH, and

that the survival rate of pediatric cancer patients of Dr. Duncan between 1981 and

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1983 is well below published national rates. The Lovato class action complaint also
gave UNMH notice of claims against it for its own alleged negligence. No
allegations have ever been made that UNMH was unable to investigate the claims
made in the original Lovato class action complaint, and in fact, the record
demonstrates that UNMH conducted a thorough investigation before the Lovato
class action complaint was filed and concluded that Dr. Duncan’s treatment of her
pediatric cancer patients “apparently was not a treatment recommended by national
pediatric oncology clinical trial groups.” These facts demonstrate that UNMH was
aware of the time, place, and circumstances of Dr. Duncan’s and its own alleged
negligence, together with the fact that it was in fact sued for the alleged negligence.
{21}. The purpose of the TCA notice requirement “is to ensure that the agency
allegedly at fault is notified that it may be subject to a lawsuit” and to “reasonably
alert the agency to the necessity of investigating the merits of the potential claim
against it.” Herald, 2015-NMCA-104, § 50 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and
citations omitted). The notice affidavit gave UNMH notice that Plaintiffs actually
intended to make claims against UNMH for their losses and injuries allegedly caused
by the negligence alleged in the Lovato and Sedillo class action complaints. As
Plaintiffs point out, the notice affidavit identifies Ms. Cummings and Shaun’s estate
by name; it states that Shaun was diagnosed and treated by Dr. Duncan at UNMH;

that Shaun died on September 29, 1983; and that Ms. Cummings considers herself

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and Shaun’s estate to be members of the classes in the Lovato and Sedillo class
actions. In addition, when the notice affidavit was filed, UNMH had already
conducted investigations into the alleged negligence of Dr. Duncan, and notified at
least two of its patient health insurance carriers of the investigations. Under the
circumstances, we fail to see how UNMH can seriously argue that it was not given
“written notice stating the time, place and circumstances of the loss or injury”
suffered by Ms. Cummings and Shaun’s estate. See Section 40-4-16(A). All of the
reasons for giving written notice under the TCA were satisfied.

22} For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that UNMH was given written notice
of the time, place and circumstances of the alleged loss or injury suffered by
Plaintiffs as required by Section 41-4-16(A) of the TCA. We note that UNMH does
not argue that delivery of the notice affidavit to UNMH’s attorneys fails to satisfy
the TCA under the circumstances. See Martinez v. City of Clovis, 1980-NMCA-078,
q 18,95 N.M. 654, 625 P.2d 583 (applying common rules of agency to conclude that
proper notice was given arising from negotiations between the plaintiff's attorneys
and the agency’s insurer). Moreover, there is no material distinction between giving
notice through an affidavit attached to a pleading and sending a letter with the same
affidavit attached. The only remaining question is whether the notice was timely,

and we now turn our attention to that question.

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V. Timeliness of the Notice

23} Section 41-4-16(C) of the TCA provides that in a claim for wrongful death,
“the required notice may be presented by, or on behalf of, the personal representative
of the deceased person . . . within six months after the date of the occurrence of the
injury which resulted in the death.” The notice requirement under the TCA “accrues
when the plaintiff knows or should know the relevant facts, whether or not the
plaintiff also knows that these facts are enough to establish a legal cause of action”
Maestas v. Zager, 2007-NMSC-003, {ff 20-21, 141 N.M. 154, 152 P.3d 141.

24; Under Maestas, we conclude UNMH received timely notice. The undisputed
facts show that Shaun’s death on September 29, 1983, followed his receipt of a
LSA2L2 chemotherapy regimen. Ms. Cummings did not discover the facts relevant
to her claim against UNMH until she retained counsel to investigate her potential
wrongful death claim against UNMH arising from the hospital’s treatment of Shaun
and received Shaun’s full medical records, which occurred, at the very earliest, on
the same day Ms. Cummings’ counsel requested Shaun’s full medical records from
UNMH on February 22, 2001. This conclusion is supported by the affidavit filed by
Ms. Cummings in response to UNMH’s motion to dismiss, in which she stated that
at no time during Shaun’s treatment did UNMH inform her that it did not follow
nationally recognized standard protocols for treatment of ALL; at no time between

when Shaun passed away in September, 1983 to the present has UNMH notified her

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that it failed to follow nationally recognized protocols for ALL in treating Shaun;
and that no one from UNM ever called, wrote, or otherwise contacted her about
Shaun’s treatment at UNMH. Five months and five days passed between February
22, 2001, and the date on which Cummings filed the notice affidavit—on July 26,
2001. Therefore, by the time the six-month period for giving UNMH notice under
the TCA expired on August, 22, 2001, the hospital had already received notice of
Plaintiffs’ claims.

CONCLUSION

{25} The order dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims and entering judgment in favor of
UNMH on grounds that notice of Plaintiffs’ was not provided to UNMH as required

by the TCA is reversed.

26 ITISSO ORDERED.

‘MICHAEL E. r Judge
WE CONCUR:
2-iidjeo—

J. MILES HANISEE, Judge

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