A split Pennsylvania Superior Court panel has ruled that botched service of a complaint to a hospital over a wrongful death shouldn't have led to the dismissal of the lawsuit by a Lebanon County judge.

The three-judge Superior Court panel ruled 2-1 to overturn the dismissal of Fernando Melendez's case against Good Samaritan Hospital of Lebanon.

At issue was whether the complaint was timely served to the hospital after the lawsuit was filed. Superior Court Judge Kate Ford Elliott wrote in the court's majority opinion that the complaint was mistakenly served via a private process company instead of the sheriff, and subsequently returned to the lawyer's office under unknown circumstances. Melendez's lawyer then had the complaint served again outside of the 30-day period after the case was filed.