Issue What is the appropriate time for filing a dispositive motion in medical malpractice actions? Case Summary Plaintiff's decedent came to the Emergency Department at Swedish Covenant with a severe headache for which he underwent a CT scan that was interpreted as normal by the defendant radiologist. The decedent was discharged, but later was asked to return when the CT was subsequently interpreted to indicate bleeding. Decedent instead went to Lutheran General where he was tested further—but not diagnosed with a bleed—and discharged. He died three days later. Pursuant to the case management order, the trial court set a schedule for controlled expert witness discovery to be completed by October 30, 2019, four days after the deadline for filing dispositive motions. On October 17, 2019, the radiologist and Swedish Covenant filed motions for summary judgment on proximate cause which argued the evidence was insufficient to establish that (1) the missed brain bleed was the same bleed that killed decedent; (2) the missed brain bleed affected the course of treatment at Lutheran General; and (3) Swedish Covenant's failure to transmit the CT images to Lutheran General would have changed the outcome. The trial court granted summary judgment to both defendants.