Conner v. Hodges

• Citation: 333 P.3d 130,157 Idaho 19
• Decision Date: 22 August 2014
• Docket Number: No. 40742.,40742.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho
• Parties: Ryan CONNER and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner, individually, and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner as Guardian Ad Litem for her natural children, Kabrya A. Steinmeyer and Makiyah L. Steinmeyer, and Ryan Conner and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner as Guardian Ad Litem for their natural child, Uriah R. Conner, Plaintiffs–Appellants, v. Bryan F. HODGES, M.D., Defendant–Respondent, and John Does I–V, persons or entities, Defendants.

157 Idaho 19

333 P.3d 130

Ryan CONNER and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner, individually, and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner as Guardian Ad Litem for her natural children, Kabrya A. Steinmeyer and Makiyah L. Steinmeyer, and Ryan Conner and Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner as Guardian Ad Litem for their natural child, Uriah R. Conner, Plaintiffs–Appellants,

v. Bryan F. HODGES, M.D., Defendant–Respondent,andJohn Does I–V, persons or entities, Defendants.

No. 40742.

Supreme Court of Idaho. Boise, May 2014 Term.

Aug. 22, 2014.

Lojek Law Offices, Chtd., Boise, for appellant Ryan Conner. Donald W. Lojek argued.

Gordon Law Offices, Chtd., Boise, for appellant Jami Leigh Steinmeyer–Conner. Bruce S. Bistline argued.

Powers Tolman Farley, PLLC, Boise, for respondent. Portia L. Rauer argued.

HORTON, Justice.

Jami and Ryan Conner appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing their claims for medical malpractice, breach of contract, and loss of consortium. The Conners allege that Jami unexpectedly became pregnant due to Dr. Bryan Hodges' negligent performance of a bilateral tubal ligation. The district court concluded that the medical malpractice claim was barred by the two-year statute of limitations found in Idaho Code section 5–219(4), as Jami suffered some damage that was objectively ascertainable at the time of the surgery. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing the Conners' breach of contract and consortium claims and we vacate the judgment dismissing the medical malpractice claim.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2006, while pregnant with her second child, Jami decided that she did not want to have more children. She discussed permanent birth control options with her physician, Dr. Hodges. They agreed that Dr. Hodges would perform a bilateral tubal ligation via electrocautery, a sterilization procedure in which the fallopian tubes are physically obstructed by using an electrical current to pinch the tubes closed. Dr. Hodges performed the bilateral tubal ligation on January 31, 2007. Based on her discussions with Dr. Hodges, Jami understood that the procedure was a permanent birth control method making the odds of becoming pregnant without prior surgical intervention extremely low. In fact, Dr. Hodges indicated that the purpose of performing the tubal ligation was permanent sterilization.

At the time of the ligation procedure, Jami was married to Danny Steinmeyer, the father of her second child. The two divorced in March of 2007. Jami saw Dr. Hodges approximately five times between January and August of 2007, and at no time during these visits did he suggest that Jami undergo a procedure to ensure that the tubal ligation was performed properly or to determine that the fallopian tubes were closed. In October of 2008, Jami began a sexual relationship with Ryan. Jami and Ryan began living together in December of 2008 and began engaging in unprotected sex. Ryan ended the relationship in May 2009.

In June of 2009, Jami discovered she had become pregnant on or around April 22, 2009. Jami and Ryan reconciled and Ryan moved back in with her a few weeks after he learned of the pregnancy. Jami gave birth to her third child on January 13, 2010. The next day, on January 14, 2010, Dr. Darren Wehyrich performed a second bilateral tubal ligation. Jami and Ryan then married on February 19, 2010.

The Conners filed their complaint on April 22, 2011.¹ Dr. Hodges moved for summary judgment on November 1, 2012, arguing the Conners' action was barred by the statute of limitations provided by Idaho Code section 5–219(4). Dr. Hodges' motion was supported by the affidavit of Dr. Lee Self, who indicated that in January of 2007 there were two objective medical tests available, hysterosalpingograms and laparoscopic chromotubations, that if performed, would have shown whether Jami's fallopian tubes were successfully obstructed as a result of the ligation procedure. Based on the availability of these tests, Dr. Hodges argued that Jami's medical malpractice action accrued on January 31, 2007, the date the surgery was performed, and since the Conners did not file their complaint until April 22, 2011, their claims were time-barred.

The Conners responded and submitted the affidavit of Dr. Philip Welch, who reviewed Jami's medical records and opined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that her "left fallopian tube was never ligated or damaged in any significant way during the course of the procedure performed by Dr. Hodges in January of 2007." Thus, the practical effect of the surgery was that Dr. Hodges performed a unilateral tubal ligation of Jami's right fallopian tube. Dr. Welch explained that the most logical explanation for this error was that Dr. Hodges failed to adequately locate the left fallopian tube and performed electrocautery on the "round ligament" which is situated close to, and closely resembles, the fallopian tube. Due to the nature of the round ligament, Dr. Welch explained that Jami would have suffered no harm or pain if the round ligament had been cauterized.

Dr. Welch also testified that the two tests identified by Dr. Self were invasive, risky, painful, and would have been medically unnecessary. A hysterosalpingogram would create the risk of infection and cause significant discomfort. A laparoscopic chromotubation involves laproscopic surgery, which presents the risk of internal injury, infection, and the risks attendant to the use of anesthesia. Dr. Welch explained that the only purpose for performing the two tests would be to double-check Dr. Hodges' work. Dr. Welch opined that any doctor who performed such unnecessary, risky, and painful procedures could be subject to disciplinary review and sanction. Thus, the Conners argued that Jami did not suffer any damage that was objectively ascertainable until her pregnancy, and as such, the cause of action did not accrue until April 22, 2009, when she became pregnant.

The district court heard Dr. Hodges' motion for summary judgment on December 10, 2012. At issue were Jami's medical malpractice and breach of contract claims, along with Ryan's medical malpractice and loss of consortium claims. On January 9, 2013, the district court issued a decision which concluded that the Conners' medical malpractice claims were time-barred because Dr. Hodges had presented undisputed evidence that damages were objectively ascertainable immediately following the surgery, as the failure to seal Jami's left fallopian tube was capable of being objectively ascertained by way of a hysterosalpingogram or laproscopic chromotubation in January of 2007. The district court concluded that Ryan's loss of consortium claim failed based on the failure of Jami's underlying medical malpractice claim and because the Conners were not married at the time of her alleged injury. Finally, the district court determined that Jami's breach of contract claim could not be pursued because the injury occurred on account of the failure to provide health care and that Idaho Code section 6–1012 precluded a separate action for breach of contract. Based upon these conclusions, the district court dismissed the Conners' complaint. The Conners timely appealed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"On appeal from the grant of a motion for summary judgment, this Court utilizes the same standard of review used by the district court originally ruling on the motion." Arregui v. Gallegos–Main, 153 Idaho 801, 804, 291 P.3d 1000, 1003 (2012). Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." I.R.C.P. 56(c). "When considering whether the evidence in the record shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the trial court must liberally construe the facts, and draw all reasonable inferences, in favor of the nonmoving party." Dulaney v. St. Alphonsus Reg'l Med. Ctr., 137 Idaho 160, 163, 45 P.3d 816, 819 (2002). "If the evidence reveals no disputed issues of material fact, then only a question of law remains, over which this Court exercises free review." Lapham v. Stewart, 137 Idaho 582, 585, 51 P.3d 396, 399 (2002).

III. ANALYSIS

A. The district court erred in granting Dr. Hodges' motion for summary judgment as to the medical malpractice claim.

The district court carefully reviewed this Court's ruling in Stuard v. Jorgenson, 150 Idaho 701, 249 P.3d 1156 (2011), and concluded that Jami "suffered damage that was objectively ascertainable on the date of surgery because it is undisputed that either a hysterosalpingogram or chromotubation would have shown that the left fallopian tube had not been successfully ligated." Thus, the district court reasoned, Jami "would have had a medical malpractice claim on an omission theory at the conclusion of the unsuccessful surgery" in January of 2007, and, because the Conners did not file their complaint until April of 2011, the medical malpractice claim was time-barred under the two year statute of limitations found in Idaho Code section 5–219(4).

On appeal, Jami argues that she did not suffer "some damage" at the time of the procedure, but only when she became pregnant.² Jami also argues that the potential utilization of unnecessary and invasive medical tests solely for the purpose of determining whether Dr. Hodges properly performed the tubal ligation does not render her injury "objectively ascertainable." Jami asserts that the district court erred by utilizing the "objectively ascertainable" analysis to determine whether there was "some damage." Next, she argues that if the district court applied the "objectively ascertainable" standard correctly under Stuard, then Stuard was wrongly decided and, in this circumstance, Idaho Code section 5–219(4) is unconstitutional.

Dr. Hodges counters that the district court properly applied the analysis that we employed in Stuard and Jami's...