641 N.E.2d 1177 | Ohio Ct. App. | 1994
Stephen Bradford, plaintiff in his own right and as guardian for Sandra Bradford, has appealed from an order granting summary judgment dismissing the complaint in this matter against defendants Tallmadge Family Medical Center, Dr. N.V. Rimedio, Dr. Rex Dinsmore, Dr. Rajdev Grewal, Summit Opthamology Inc., and Dr. D.G. Burket. The trial court held that this medical malpractice claim was not commenced against these six defendants within the applicable one-year statute of limitations. Bradford has argued that the trial court (1) incorrectly determined the date on which the cause of action accrued against these defendants, and (2) incorrectly determined that the statute of limitations had not been tolled based upon Sandra Bradford having become of *104 unsound mind.1 This court affirms the judgment of the trial court because (1) it correctly determined that the cause of action accrued against these defendants on the date Mrs. Bradford was diagnosed as having a brain tumor rather than on the date that tumor was removed, and (2) the undisputed facts in this case would not support a finding that the statute of limitations was tolled because Mrs. Bradford became of unsound mind after the cause of action accrued.
Following surgery, Mrs. Bradford exhibited a number of physical complications, including blindness. After a period of hospitalization, she was cared for at home from July 26, 1985, through June 29, 1987. She was then placed in a nursing home.
On January 4, 1990, the Summit County Probate Court determined that Mrs. Bradford was of unsound mind and appointed a guardian for her. Mr. Bradford succeeded the original guardian on May 14, 1991.
Mr. Bradford commenced this action, case No. 91-06-2183, on June 18, 1993, on behalf of himself and as Mrs. Bradford's guardian. There were seventeen defendants named in his complaint, including the three parties who were the defendants in case No. 84-11-3541.
During the time this case was pending before the trial court, Mr. Bradford voluntarily dismissed seven of the defendants who had not been parties to case No. 84-11-3541. The other seven defendants who had not been parties to case No. 84-11-3541 moved for summary judgment and argued that this action had not been commenced against them prior to expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. The trial court initially denied their motions and they moved for reconsideration of that denial. On August 24, 1992, the trial court reconsidered its earlier ruling and granted the motions for summary judgment of six of the remaining defendants who had not been parties to case No. 84-11-3541. The trial court's order included a certification that there was no just reason for delay, and Mr. Bradford appealed to this court.
R.C.
"[I]f a person entitled to bring [an] action mentioned in [Section
"After the cause of action accrues, if the person entitled to bring the action becomes of unsound mind and is adjudicated as such by a court of competent jurisdiction or is confined in an institution or hospital under a diagnosed condition or disease which renders [her] of unsound mind, the time during which [she] is of unsound mind and so adjudicated or so confined shall not be computed as any part of the period within which the action must be brought." R.C.
Based upon the language of R.C.
Three factors must be analyzed to determine the accrual date of a cause of action for medical malpractice:
"(1) when the injured party became aware, or should have become aware, of the extent and seriousness of [her] condition; (2) whether the injured party was aware, or should have been aware, that the condition was related to a specific professional service that [she] previously received; and (3) whether such condition would put a reasonable person on notice of the need to inquire into the cause of [her] condition." Flowers v. Walker
(1992),
As noted previously, Mr. Bradford has argued that Mrs. Bradford's cause of action did not accrue until the brain tumor was surgically removed on April 30, 1984. He presented no evidence, however, that Mrs. Bradford's diagnosis changed in any way relevant to her medical malpractice claim between April 21, 1984, and the completion of the surgery. The purpose of the surgery was to remove the tumor that had been diagnosed; it was not exploratory surgery to confirm a tentative diagnosis by determining whether a suspected tumor was present. The surgery was necessary because the size and location of the known tumor required its removal.
Mrs. Bradford became aware of the extent and seriousness of her condition upon being informed, prior to her discharge from the hospital on April 21, 1984, that the symptoms she had been experiencing for nine years were being caused by a brain tumor. Upon learning that information, she became aware, or should have become aware, that the medical personnel with whom she had consulted during the preceding nine years about those symptoms had failed to discover the brain tumor that was causing them. Finally, having learned the cause, and recognizing that the medical personnel with whom she had previously consulted had failed to discover that cause, she was on notice of the need to inquire about whether their failure was because they had breached a duty of care owed to her, and whether her condition had lasted longer than necessary or worsened because *108 of that breach. Accordingly, the trial court correctly concluded that the cause of action accrued, at the latest, on April 21, 1984. Mr. Bradford's first assignment of error is overruled.
It is undisputed that Mrs. Bradford was not determined to be of unsound mind by a court of competent jurisdiction until January 4, 1990. It is further undisputed that she was cared for at her home from July 26, 1985, until June 23, 1987. During the period between July 26, 1985, and June 23, 1987, therefore, Mrs. Bradford had neither been adjudicated as being of unsound mind nor been confined to an institution or hospital under a diagnosed condition or disease that rendered her of unsound mind. Accordingly, the one-year statute of limitations applicable to her medical malpractice claim was not tolled during that period and expired prior to the time this action was filed against the six defendants at issue. Mr. Bradford's second assignment of error is overruled.
Judgment affirmed.
BAIRD, P.J., and REECE, J., concur.