Starr v. Banner

── Starr v. Banner ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: June 03, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE GREG STARR, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. BANNER HEALTH, et al., Defendants/Appellees. No. 1 CA-CV 25-0739 FILED 06-03-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. CV2023-051822 The Honorable Christopher Whitten, Judge AFFIRMED COUNSEL Sandoval Law PLLC, Phoenix By David J. Sandoval Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellant Broening Oberg Woods & Wilson, Phoenix By Jay A. Fradlkin, Kelley M. Jancaitis Co-Counsel for Defendants/Appellees Jones, Skelton & Hochuli P.L.C., Phoenix By Eileen Dennis GilBride Co-Counsel for Defendants/Appellees  STARR v. BANNER Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Jennifer M. Perkins delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Michael S. Catlett and Judge Angela K. Paton joined. P E R K I N S, Judge: ¶1 Greg Starr appeals the superior court judgment dismissing his claims for wrongful death and medical negligence against Dr. Paramvir Singh and Dr. Doris Chafac. He also appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of Banner Health dba Banner Desert Medical Center (“Banner”) on his vicarious liability claim for the actions of Dr. Raymond Hemmert. For the following reasons, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶2 Renee Starr was a 36-year-old woman with lupus and Raynaud’s disease. She occasionally suffered flare-ups of her conditions that required emergency treatment. Renee preferred to be treated at Banner’s emergency department because the hospital was clean, the medical staff was friendly, and the staff was familiar with her medical history. ¶3 On May 19, 2021, her mother called an ambulance when Renee began experiencing severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Renee requested the paramedics take her to “Banner on Dobson.” Her mother accompanied her. Dr. Hemmert, a non-party, was the attending emergency room physician. Sometime during the night, Renee was admitted to the main hospital. Around 7:00 a.m. on May 20th, nurses found Renee non-responsive. She passed away in Banner’s emergency department that morning. ¶4 On May 16, 2023, Greg Starr, Renee’s father, sued on behalf of himself and Renee’s beneficiaries for medical negligence and wrongful death. He named as defendants Banner, the two on-shift emergency room nurses, the hospitalist who signed Renee’s death certificate (Dr. Singh), the hospitalist on shift at the main hospital (Dr. Chafac), and any other Banner employees who may be liable for Renee’s death. He certified that expert testimony would be needed to prove his claims. 2  STARR v. BANNER Decision of the Court ¶5 In March 2024, Starr provided a preliminary expert affidavit from Dr. Angelique Campen, a board-certified emergency room physician, opining that Dr. Hemmert fell below the standard of care. Shortly after, the hospitalists and the nurses moved to dismiss Starr’s complaint against them because Starr did not serve a preliminary expert affidavit addressing the standard of care for a hospitalist or nurse as required under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-2603. In response, Starr requested a time extension to comply with Section 12-2603. Starr argued he required limited discovery into Banner’s policies to determine when