Anonymous Physician and Anonymous Medical Group v. Richard Loucks RogersAnonymous Physician and Anonymous Medical Group v. Richard Loucks Rogers
Lead Opinion
OPINION
Case Summary and Issue
Richard Rogers, pro se, filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance a proposed complaint for medical malpractice on March 4, 2011 against Anonymous Physician and Anonymous Medical Group (collectively, “Physician”). Physician filed in the trial court a Motion for Preliminary Determination and for Summary Judgment, alleging Rogers’s complaint was not timely filed under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act. The trial court initially granted summary judgment to Physician but later granted Rogers’s motion to correct error and denied summary judgment. The parties present several issues on ap
Facts and Procedural History
Rogers was experiencing painless blood in his urine and made his first appointment with Physician, a licensed urologist, on August 4, 2006. At that appointment, Physician performed a renal ultrasound which showed several lesions on Rogers’s bladder and performed a flexible cystoscopy which showed defects on both sides of his bladder walls. Rogers was diagnosed with bladder cancer less than two weeks later. Physician placed Rogers on chemotherapy with periodic cystoscopy examinations so the cancer could be monitored. Between August 2006 and January 2009, Physician performed several cystoscopies on Rogers. Before performing each cystoscopy, Physician always disinfected the urology equipment with Cidex OPA; he did so without informing Rogers that manufacturer warnings, Cidex OPA package warnings, and medical literature had all advised that Ci-dex OPA was contraindicated for patients with bladder cancer. Rogers suffered no ill effects from the use of Cidex OPA until March 2008.
After a cystoscopy on March 10, 2008, Rogers experienced minor itching. Rogers was treated with Benadryl. On July 14, 2008, Rogers had another cystoscopy and another allergic reaction ensued. His symptoms worsened — he experienced redness and swelling in both his face and lips. Rogers was treated with Solu-Medrol and Benadryl at Lutheran Hospital. On January 7, 2009, Rogers had another cystosco-py performed, followed by his third allergic reaction. Rogers experienced swelling in his hands and developed a rash, so Physician prescribed him steroids. Later in the day, however, Rogers went to Du-pont Hospital where he was further treated with intravenous steroids and Benadryl; he was also admitted for overnight observation.
On January 22, 2009, Rogers had an appointment with Dr. Mahan Menon (“Allergist”).
Rogers, pro se, filed a proposed complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance on March 4, 2011, alleging that the treatment rendered by Physician from August 2006 through July 2009 was negligent and below the appropriate standard of care. Physician responded by filing a Motion for Preliminary Determination and for Summary Judgment in the trial court, alleging that Rogers’s claim was barred by the Medical Malpractice Act’s two-year statute of limitations period. The trial court granted the motion. Rogers filed a motion to correct error, alleging there was
Discussion and Decision
I. Standard of Review
Physician appeals the trial court’s grant of Rogers’s motion to correct error. It is well established that we review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to correct error for an abuse of discretion. Old Utica Sch. Pres., Inc. v. Utica Twp.,
Here, the effect of granting the motion to correct error was to set aside the entry of summary judgment for Physician. When a trial court’s denial of summary judgment is challenged on appeal, “our well-settled standard of review is the same as it is for the trial court: whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Kroger Co. v. Plonski,
II. Summary Judgment
Physician argues that the Medical Malpractice Act’s statute of limitations, found at Indiana Code section 34-18-7-1 (b), bars Rogers’s claim because the last injury occurred January 7, 2009, which places Rogers’s proposed complaint — filed on March 4, 2011 — outside of the two-year occurrence-based statute of limitations period. Rogers does not disagree that the last procedure occurred on January 7, 2009, but argues that the doctrine of continuing wrong applies, because Physician engaged in an entire course of negligent conduct from August 2006 through at least March 6, 2009, the day Rogers’s allergy was discovered. Rogers contends that, at the very least, there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the doctrine of continuing wrong applies which precludes summary judgment.
A. Statute of Limitations
The Medical Malpractice Act’s statute of limitations is found in Indiana Code section 34—18—7—1(b), which provides:
A claim, whether in contract or tort, may not be brought against a health care provider based upon professional services or health care that was provided or that should have been provided unless the claim is filed within two (2) years after the date of the alleged act, omission, or neglect....
This is an occurrence-based statute of limitations, “meaning that an action for medical malpractice generally must be filed within two years from the date the alleged negligent act occurred rather than from the date it was discovered.” Houser v. Kaufman,
[I]n determining whether a medical malpractice claim has been commenced within the medical malpractice statute of limitations, the discovery or trigger date is the point when a claimant either knows of the malpractice and resulting injury, or learns of facts that, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should lead to the discovery of the malpractice and the resulting injury.... The issue to be determined is the point at which a particular claimant either knew of the malpractice and resulting injury, or learned of facts that would have led a person of reasonable diligence to have discovered the malpractice and resulting injury. If this date is less than two years after the occurrence of the alleged malpractice, the statute of limitations bars the claim unless it is not reasonably possible for the claimant to present the claim in the remaining time, in which case the claimant must do so within a reasonable time after the discovery or trigger date. If such date is more than two years after the occurrence of the malpractice, the claimant has two years within which to commence the action.
David v. Kleckner,
B. Physician’s Argument
Physician designated evidence in support of his motion for summary judgment establishing . that the last procedure he performed on Rogers using Cidex OPA and the last time Rogers suffered an allergic reaction occurred on January 7, 2009. Physician and Rogers both acknowledge that the date Rogers learned of the mal
Physician argues that the only exception to Rogers’s claim being barred is if after discovery, “it [wa]s not reasonably possible for the claimant to present the claim within the remaining time.” See David,
C. Rogers’s Argument
Rogers argues that the doctrine of continuing wrong applies, or that at least there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether it applies, because although he had allergic reactions to three separate cystoscopies (March 10, 2008; July 14, 2008; and January 7, 2009), the Physician 1) provided treatment below the requisite standard of care from August 2006 through March 2009; 2) failed to investigate the cause of the allergic reactions; 3) should have discovered the cause of the allergic reactions sooner by reading manufacturer warnings and medical literature that was available; and 4) did not refer Rogers to an allergist for diagnosis.
D. Applicability of the Doctrine of Continuing Wrong
Physician has established that Rogers did not file his complaint until March 4, 2011, which is outside of the statute of limitations period if the last negligent act occurred January 7, 2009. Rogers argues that the doctrine of continuing wrong saves his claim because Physician’s negligence continued until March 6, 2009. This, Rogers argues, is the day the statute of limitations period began to run.
The doctrine of continuing wrong applies where an entire course of conduct combines to produce an injury. Whenthis doctrine attaches, the statutory limitations period begins to run at the end of the continuing wrongful act. In order to apply the doctrine, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the alleged injury-producing conduct was of a continuous nature. The doctrine of continuing wrong is not an equitable doctrine; rather, it defines when an act, omission, or neglect took place.
Gradus-Pizlo v. Acton,
In Garneau v. Bush,
However, the patient asserted that the doctrine of continuing wrong should apply, because the doctor’s negligent treatment was continuous until November 8, 1999, thus tolling the commencement of the statute of limitations. Id. at 1143-46. We held that under these facts and circumstances, the patient had established a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the doctor’s installation of an obsolete prosthesis, followed by continuous treatment with prescription pain medication and failure to recommend revision at any point six months or more following the surgery, constituted a continuing wrong. Id. at 1145. Noting that “a plaintiff may not sit idly by if they discover facts that alert them that they have a cause of action,” and that the doctrine of continuing wrong only tolls the statute of limitations until such time as the plaintiff learns facts which should lead to the discovery of the cause of action, we stated that if a jury determined that the doctor’s actions constituted a continuing wrong, the statute of limitations would have begun to run on November 8, 1999. Id. Because the patient filed the complaint within two years of that date, the doctrine of continuing wrong, if applicable, would save the patient’s complaint from dismissal based on the statute of limitations. Id. Accordingly, summary judgment was improper because there were genuine issues of material fact about when the statute of limitations began to run. Id.
Here, the only conduct Rogers has shown to be continuous — the cystoscopy procedures over the three year period— were injury-producing on three separate occasions. This conduct is unlike the injury-producing conduct in Gameau, where the doctor’s affirmative actions were sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether all of the physician’s conduct combined produced an injury. Id. at 1143. Rogers has not shown any continuous conduct by Physician beyond the date of the last injury-producing cystosco-
More recently, we refused to apply the doctrine in a case more analogous to the current one. In Gradus-Pizlo, we reversed a trial court’s denial of summary judgment because there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the plaintiffs claim was untimely pursuant to Indiana Code section 34-18-7-1(b).
To avoid the claim being barred by the statute of limitations, the plaintiff alleged that the doctor’s “entire course of care” throughout the patient’s hospitalization until the day of her death resulted in a continuing wrong, claiming the statute of limitations should be tolled. Id. at 871. Despite the patient’s daily consumption of medicine, we granted summary judgment to the doctor, holding that the alleged medical malpractice consisted of a single act — the prescription of medicine — not an entire course of conduct. Id. In determining when the injury occurred, we did not include the entire period of time that the patient was under the doctor’s care, nor the two weeks during which the patient continued to take the medication after the doctor prescribed it. We held the act of malpractice occurred on March 12, 2006, when the doctor prescribed the medication, and the discovery date was March 29, 2006, when the patient’s condition brought to light the possibility that the doctor may have been negligent in doing so. Id. at 870. With “1 year, 11 months, and 2 weeks” of the statute of limitations period remaining on the date of discovery, we held the April 1, 2008 complaint was barred by the statute of limitations. Id. at 870-71.
The Physician’s actions here are similar to the physician’s actions in Gradus-Pizlo. There, this court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the doctor’s entire course of care created a continuing wrong and held that the two year statute of limitations period began to run the day the medicine was prescribed, not the day the patient stopped taking the medicine and not the day the patient died. Id. We did this even though the medicine led to the patient’s death. Rogers makes the same argument but does so without distinguishing the present case from Gradus-Pizlo. Rogers alleges that Physician was negligent from his first treatment of Rogers in August 2006 through at least March 6, 2009,
We would have to ignore our case law refusing to apply the doctrine to isolated instances of negligence in order to accept Rogers’s argument. See Babcock v. Lafayette Home Hosp., Woman’s Clinic,
E. Exception To Claim Being Barred
Because the doctrine of continuing wrong does not apply, Rogers’s claim will only be saved if it was not reasonably possible for him to file the claim within the two-year statutory limitations period. See David,
When Rogers discovered the alleged malpractice, he had twenty-two months remaining to present his claim — almost the full two years granted by the statute. He has not alleged any disability or other reason why he could not bring his claim within this time. Accordingly, it was reasonably possible for him to present the claim within the statute of limitations period. See Coffer v. Arndt,
Physician has met his burden of proving that the action was commenced outside the statutory period. He last saw Rogers on
Conclusion
Concluding that Physician’s last act of negligence occurred January 7, 2009 and that the doctrine of continuing wrong does not apply, Rogers’s claim is barred by the Medical ' Malpractice Act’s occurrence-based statute of limitations. Accordingly, summary judgment is appropriate for Physician, and the trial court abused its discretion in finding otherwise and granting Rogers’s motion to correct error. We reverse.
Reversed.
Notes
. We held oral argument in this case on October 20, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana and would like to thank the attorneys for their excellent argument.
. Physician and Rogers disagree as to who referred Rogers to Allergist. Physician says he referred Rogers to Allergist. Rogers says his family practitioner referred him to Allergist.
. Generally, the denial of summary judgment is an interlocutory order. Hrezo v. City of Lawrenceburg,
In addition, after Rogers filed his appellee's brief, Physician filed with this court a Notice of Appellee's Cross-Appeal and Alternative Verified Motion for Extension of Time asserting that the Brief of Appellee raises several new issues and constitutes a cross-appeal, entitling Physician to thirty days to respond. This court accepted the notice, designated Rogers’s brief a cross-appeal, and set deadlines for the filing of both parties’ reply briefs.
. The trial court found in its order granting Rogers's motion to correct error that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to "whether the prior allergic reactions Mr. Rogers suffered following any one of his previous exposures to Cidex OPA on March 10, 2008, July 14, 2008, or January 7, 2009, would have led a reasonably diligent person to the discovery of [Physician's] alleged medical malpractice.” Appellants' Public Appendix at 13. Physician does not contend that Rogers should have, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, discovered the malpractice earlier than March 6, 2009. Moreover, even if there is an issue of fact about whether he knew of facts that should have led him to this discovery earlier, it is not a material issue of fact. An earlier discovery date would only mean that Rogers’s complaint should have been filed even" earlier than the date Physician argues it should have been filed and would not preclude summary judgment on these facts.
. As noted in the facts, and acknowledged at oral argument, there is a dispute about whether or not Physician referred Rogers to Allergist. This does not appear to be a material dispute, however, given the resolution of this issue.
. Rogers alleges that he was still under Physician’s care until July 2009 and that he continued to experience injuries related to his Cidex OPA exposure well into 2010. However, "[t]he doctrine of continuing wrong will not prevent the statute of limitations from beginning to run when the plaintiff learns of [the malpractice] even if his relationship with the tortfeasor continues beyond that point.” Garneau,
. The dissent believes that Physician’s course of conduct did not end on January 7, 2009, but rather, it continued until at least March 6, 2009 when Allergist informed Rogers of the allergy. However, this argument conflates an occurrence based statute of limitations with a discovery based statute of limitations.- Although Physician remained Rogers’s urologist until July 2009, January 7, 2009 is the date of the last occurrence from which the statute of limitations is measured.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
The doctrine of continuing wrong applies where an entire course of conduct combines to produce an injury. Boggs v. Tri-State Radiology, Inc.,
Here, Anonymous Physician was Richard Rogers’ urologist from the date of his first appointment in August 2006 through July 2009. The course of conduct giving rise to this action was Physician’s use of Cidex OPA to disinfect the urology equipment, contrary to the standard of care, and his failure to diagnose and advise Rogers of such usage after Rogers’ repeated allergic reactions. This course of conduct commenced in August 2006. It continued at least until March 6, 2009, the date that the Allergist to whom Physician stated he referred Rogers, advised both Rogers and Physician that Rogers was allergic to Ci-dex OPA. Because Rogers’ Proposed Complaint for Medical Malpractice was filed on March 4, 2011, it was timely filed.