Cornerstone Hospital of Southeast Arizona v. Ernest H. Blackburn

OPINION

VÁSQUEZ, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 In this special action, we are asked to decide whether AR.S. § 12-2604, which prescribes the qualifications of a standard-of-care expert in an action involving allegations of medical negligence, applies to an action brought pursuant to the Adult Protective Services Act (APSA), A.R.S. §§ 46-451 through 46-459. We conclude § 12-2604 does apply to an APSA action that is based on allegations of medical negligence involving a vulnerable adult, and that the respondent judge erred by concluding otherwise. But, because the respondent reached the correct result in…