Region: Americas
Year: 2012
Court: Supreme Court of Justice [Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación Argentina]
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Health care and health services, Hospitals, Medical malpractice
Human Rights: Right to due process/fair trial, Right to health, Right to life, Right to social security
Tags: Child, Health care and health services, Health care professionals, Medical malpractice
The plaintiff, the mother of her underage daughter, filed a suit with First Instance Civil and Commercial Court of La Matanza [Juzgado de Primera Instancia en lo Civil y Comercial N°1 del Departamento Judicial de la Matanza] to obtain liquidate damages against the physician and hospital who treated her daughter and the health insurance company they are affiliate. The First Instance Civil and Commercial Court of La Matanza by its own motion held that it had no jurisdiction because as a health insurance company was sued, the case should be solved in the Federal Jurisdiction and send the case to the Federal Civil, Commercial and Contentious Administrative Court of San Martín [Juzgado Federal Civil, Comercial y Contencioso Administrativo de San Martín]. The Federal Civil, Commercial and Contentious Administrative Court of San Martín held that the case should be filed according to article 352 of the Civil and Commercial Procedural Code and sent the case to the Supreme Court of Justice to determine the jurisdiction of the case.
The Supreme Court of Justice found that the corresponding action was to send the case again to the Federal Court to decide about why it was not competent but given the fact that the case was filed in 2006 and the parties were still without a jurisdiction to solve the case, the Supreme Court of Justice held that the Civil and Commercial First Instance Court of La Matanza should solve the case.