COLEMAN, Justice, for the Court:
¶ 1. The Monroe County Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of Arch Specialty Insurance Company, finding that Arch's general liability policy did not provide coverage for the claims asserted by the wrongful death beneficiaries of William Gray. The Grays' claims of negligent hiring, negligent training, and failure to implement appropriate triage protocols arose from the performance of or failure to perform medical services, which the general liability policy excludes. The Grays appealed. We affirm.
¶ 2. William Gray was in a car wreck on April 8, 2006, and paramedics employed by Emergystat, Inc. and Southland Health Services, Inc. responded. William died shortly thereafter. On April 7, 2009, William's wrongful death beneficiaries (the Grays) filed suit against Emergystat, Southland, and various employees. The Grays claimed that William was alive when the paramedics arrived and that he "remained alive for one hour before properly being attended, treated[,] and cared for[.]" They alleged that Emergystat and Southland were negligent in rendering medical care to William, resulting in his death. They also alleged negligent hiring, negligent training, and failure to implement appropriate triage protocols. The defendants did not answer the complaint, and the Grays filed an entry of default.
¶ 3. Two days before filing the entry of default, the Grays' attorney notified Arch Specialty Insurance Company of the suit and advised that a policy Arch had issued to Emergystat and Southland could be implicated. Arch investigated the claim and informed Emergystat and Southland that the policy did not provide coverage. In December 2009, the trial court entered a default judgment against Emergystat and Southland for $1,251,822. Six months later, the Grays filed a writ of garnishment against Arch in an attempt to collect under the insurance policy. Arch denied that the Grays were entitled to collect and filed a motion for summary judgment. The circuit court granted Arch's motion, finding that the policy did not provide coverage. The Grays appealed.
¶ 4. The issue on appeal is whether the Arch general liability policy, issued to Emergystat and Southland, covers the Grays' claims of negligent hiring, negligent training, and failure to implement appropriate triage protocols. "The proper construction of an insurance contract provision is a question of law[,] which we review de novo." Farmland Mut. Ins. Co. v. Scruggs, 886 So.2d 714, 717 (¶ 10) (Miss.2004) (citation omitted). The Court also reviews a trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo. S. Healthcare Servs., Inc. v. Lloyd's of London, 110 So.3d 735, 743 (¶ 17) (Miss.2013). Summary judgment is appropriate if the moving party proves "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact." Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
¶ 5. Arch issued an umbrella policy to Emergystat and Southland for the period of November 9, 2002, to December 1, 2007. The umbrella policy provided two types of coverage: professional liability and general liability. The Professional Liability Policy was a "claims-made" policy, which afforded coverage for damages arising from "medical professional injury" that resulted "from acts or omissions in the providing of
¶ 6. Arch moved for summary judgment, claiming that the Grays were not entitled to payment under either policy. Arch maintained that the Professional Liability Policy did not provide coverage because it was a "claims made" policy, which covered only claims made during the policy period, and the Grays did not make a claim during the policy period.
¶ 7. The allegations in the Grays' complaint became fact when the Grays obtained the default judgment. Capital One Servs., Inc. v. Rawls, 904 So.2d 1010, 1018-19 (¶ 30) (Miss.2004) (quoting Journey v. Long, 585 So.2d 1268, 1272 (Miss. 1991)). Thus, taking the facts in the complaint as true, it was the paramedics' failure to provide proper medical care that resulted in William's death. The General Liability Policy excludes from coverage "`[b]odily injury' or `property damage' that result from the performance of or failure to perform `health care professional services.'" The policy defines "health care professional services" as follows:
The paramedics were providing medical services or treatment to William, and their conduct falls under section A of the "health care professional services" exclusion. The Grays do not dispute that section A excludes medical services, but they assert that their claims for negligent hiring and
¶ 8. The Grays assert that the "health care professional services" exclusion does not exclude their claims for negligent hiring, negligent training, and failure to implement appropriate protocols. The Grays' argument is difficult to follow, so we quote it verbatim from their brief:
To summarize, the Grays maintain that sections D and E are conditional, so that "health care professional services" claims are excluded only if the insured met the requirement of having a formal accreditation, standards review, or an equivalent board involved in its hiring and training process. In the alternative, the Grays argue that section A, which excludes damages resulting from the performance or failure to perform medical services, should not exclude independent causes of action like negligent hiring, training, and supervising. They did not cite any caselaw to support that argument.
¶ 9. Arch maintains that a plaintiff's legal theory does not determine the applicability of exclusions; if an exclusion applies, then it applies to all theories of liability. We agree. The Court has held that, if the injury would not have resulted "but for" the excluded service, then the exclusion applies to all theories of liability. See Meyers v. Miss. Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 883 So.2d 10, 16 (¶ 26) (Miss.2003); Titan Indem. Co. v. Estes, 825 So.2d 651, 656 (¶¶ 18-19) (Miss.2002). Both Meyers and Titan dealt with injuries that resulted from automobile accidents, and the policies at issue had auto exclusions. In Titan, the Court held:
Titan, 825 So.2d at 656 (¶¶ 18-19) (emphasis added). Likewise, in Meyers, the Court used the "but for" language in reasoning that coverage was not available under the policy:
Meyers, 883 So.2d at 13-14, 16 (¶¶ 19-20, 26) (emphasis added). Both Meyers and Titan cited a case from the Southern District of Mississippi that had addressed the same issue: Love by Smith v. McDonough, 758 F.Supp. 397 (S.D.Miss.1991).
¶ 10. In Love, the plaintiff's bodily injury arose out of the defendant's daughter's "use of a motor vehicle," so the defendant's homeowner's insurance policy did not cover the plaintiff's claim. Love, 758 F.Supp. at 400. The court held that the "[p]laintiff's flawed theory is that the bases of liability against [the defendant], negligent entrustment, negligent supervision, and statutory liability pursuant to Section 63-1-25, are unrelated to the use of the automobile by [defendant's daughter]." Id. The issue in Love was one of first impression, and the southern district court was "Erie-bound" to predict how the Mississippi Supreme Court would have ruled. Id.
Id. at 402. Although Titan, Meyers, and Love dealt with automobile exclusions, rather than a health care professional services exclusion, the same rationale applies here.
¶ 11. Due to the entry of default judgment, the Court takes as true the allegation that William's death resulted from the paramedics' performance of or failure to perform medical services. The General Liability Policy does not provide coverage for claims that arise from health care professional services. The policy is unambiguous; sections D and E are not applicable to the facts at hand, no matter how the Grays framed the issues. The Grays would not have been damaged but for the paramedics' failure to provide medical attention, which is an excluded service under section A. Therefore, the exclusion applies to damages arising from the failure to provide medical services regardless of the theories of liability asserted. See Meyers, 883 So.2d at 16; Titan, 825 So.2d at 656. Arch's general liability insurance policy does not cover the Grays' claims for negligent hiring, negligent training, and failure to implement appropriate protocols.
¶ 12. Application of an exclusion in an insurance policy does not depend on the plaintiff's theory of liability. If the injury would not have resulted "but for" the excluded service, then the exclusion applies to all theories of liability. The "health care professional services" exclusion excluded the Grays' claims from coverage. We affirm the circuit court's grant of summary' judgment.
¶ 13.
WALLER, C.J., DICKINSON AND RANDOLPH, P.JJ., LAMAR, KITCHENS, CHANDLER, PIERCE, AND KING, JJ., CONCUR.