Depew v. Burkle

• Decision Date: 23 April 2003
• Docket Number: No. 84A04-0203-CV-122.,84A04-0203-CV-122.
• Citation: 786 N.E.2d 1144
• Parties: Tonda M. (Thacker) DEPEW, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Robert J. BURKLE, M.D., Appellee-Defendant.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

786 N.E.2d 1144

Tonda M. (Thacker) DEPEW, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Robert J. BURKLE, M.D., Appellee-Defendant.

No. 84A04-0203-CV-122.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

April 23, 2003.

Michael S. Miller, Catherine A. Kling, Miller Muller Mendelson & Kennedy, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

R. Steven Johnson, Sacopulos Johnson & Sacopulos, Terre Haute, IN, Attorney for Appellee.

OPINION

FRIEDLANDER, Judge.

Tonda M. Depew appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of Robert J. Burkle, M.D., in Depew's medical malpractice action against Burkle. Depew challenges the granting of Burkle's motion for summary judgment, presenting the following restated issues for review:

1. Does the release of the tortfeasor in an automobile accident operate also to release a physician who treated the plaintiff's injuries, and was sued for malpractice based upon that treatment?

2. If the physician was not released thereby, is he entitled to set-off as a result of the release of the tortfeasor in the underlying lawsuit?

We reverse and remand.

The facts favorable to Depew (the nonmoving party) are that on October 10, 1995, Depew was involved in an automobile accident with David Stigler. Among other injuries, Depew suffered fractures in both her right and left arms. Depew's malpractice claims against Burkle involve only the treatment of her right arm.

On October 11, 1995, the day after the accident, Dr. Burkle performed surgery on Depew, including an open reduction and internal fixation of her right arm. A pin was inserted to stabilize the humerus bone. Shortly after the surgery, Depew told Burkle that she could feel the pin moving in her arm. Burkle told her that the pin was too short, and performed a second surgery to correct the problem. During the second surgery, Burkle "ream[ed] the bone so the rush rod or whatever it was called would fit." Appellee's Appendix at 46-47. After the second surgery, Depew could not move her elbow very much, but Burkle told her that the condition was temporary and would soon resolve itself. He also instructed Depew that the bone was weaker on one side and that she should take care to keep it immobilized until it healed. Approximately one to one-and-a-half weeks later, nurses removed the lower part of the bandages on Depew's right arm. Depew noticed for the first time that she could not raise her fingers, and that she had numbness around her thumb and little finger. She also noticed that she could not move her wrist up or down. She questioned Burkle about the problem. He informed her that during the second surgery, "when he was working on [the] arm he shaved a nerve." Id. at 52. A short time later a third surgery was performed on Depew's right arm. She was discharged from the hospital following her third surgery.

Sometime in 1996, Depew was admitted to the hospital because her weight had dropped to 75 pounds. While there, her right arm snapped near her elbow, at or near the location where Dr. Burkle had reamed out the bone during the second surgery. Depew was attended in the emergency room by a Dr. Ambrose. After looking at an x-ray of Depew's right arm, Dr. Ambrose told Depew that he would not have performed surgery on her arm in the first place, but would merely have put it in a cast. Depew told him about her wrist-drop condition and relayed to him what Dr. Burkle told her about shaving her nerve. Dr. Ambrose told her he would examine the nerve when he operated on her arm.

In June 1996, Drs. Ambrose and Mih operated on Depew's right arm, removing the rush rod and replacing it with a plate and six pins. Upon examining the radial nerve in her right arm, he discovered that the nerve had not been shaved, but instead had been nearly severed. They repaired the nerve during that operation. In June 1997, Dr. Ambrose performed a tendon transfer in Depew's right arm. The latter surgery resulted in the restoration of almost normal functioning in Depew's right wrist.

On August 25, 1997, Depew filed a complaint for damages against Stigler. In that complaint, Depew alleged that he had been negligent in causing the automobile collision on October 10, 1995. On August 4, 1999, Depew executed a settlement agreement with Stigler's insurer whereby she released him from any further liability, in exchange for $102,500.00. On September 8, 1999, Stigler and Depew filed a joint stipulation of dismissal.

With respect to her claims against Burkle, on January 23, 1997 Depew filed a proposed complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance alleging that Burkle had committed medical malpractice. A medical review panel rendered its opinion on February 28, 2000. On May 8, 2000, Depew filed her complaint for damages against Burkle, alleging that he was negligent in treating her right arm. In his answer, Burkle asserted the following affirmative defense: "Plaintiff has been satisfied in full or in part for her damages and injuries, and Defendant is entitled to the defense of satisfaction, either in full or in part, as a result thereof." Appellant's Appendix at 15. On November 28, 2001, Burkle filed a motion for summary judgment, designating in support thereof the settlement with Stigler and the ensuing release Depew signed in connection with that action. On February 13, 2002, the trial court granted Burkle's motion and entered summary judgment in his favor.

1.

Depew contends that the trial court erred in ruling that the release Depew executed in connection with her suit against Stigler also released Burkle.

We review a grant of summary judgment by applying the same legal standard as the trial court. Conseco Fin. Servicing Corp. v. Old Nat. Bank, 754 N.E.2d 997 (Ind.Ct.App.2001).

[S]ummary judgment is appropriate only where the evidence shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. All facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts are construed in favor of the non-moving party. The review of a summary judgment motion is limited to those materials designated to the trial court. We must carefully review decisions on summary judgment motions to ensure that the parties were not improperly denied their day in court.

Tom-Wat, Inc. v. Fink, 741 N.E.2d 343, 346 (Ind.2001) (citations omitted). Summary judgment is particularly appropriate where the relevant facts are not in dispute. Conseco Fin. Servicing Corp. v. Old Nat. Bank, 754 N.E.2d 997. We will reverse the trial court's ruling on a summary judgment motion when the trial court has incorrectly applied the law to undisputed facts. Id. We will affirm if the trial court's ruling is sustainable on any theory or basis found in the designated material. Mackiewicz v. Metzger, 750 N.E.2d 812 (Ind.Ct. App.2001), trans. denied.

The controversy before us centers upon the effect of the release executed by Depew when she settled with Stigler. The critical question is, what was the scope and effect of that release? A brief review of the law of release as it relates to multiple tortfeasors is in order. The law in Indiana formerly was that the release of one joint tortfeasor released all other joint tortfeasors. Estate of Spry v. Greg & Ken, Inc., 749 N.E.2d 1269 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). Our supreme court abrogated that rule in Huffman v. Monroe County Cmty. Sch. Corp., 588 N.E.2d 1264 (Ind.1992). The rule that emerged from Huffman is still in force today, and was articulated by our supreme court as follows:

A release executed in exchange for proper consideration works to release only those parties to the agreement unless it is clear from the document that others are to be released as well. A release, as with any contract, should be interpreted according to the standard rules of contract law. Therefore, from this point forward, release documents shall be interpreted in the same manner as any other contract document, with the intention of the parties regarding the purpose of the document governing.

Id. at 1267.

We note first that Huffman was decided in a case involving joint tortfeasors, and should be understood in that context. Joint tortfeasors are not, however, the same as successive tortfeasors. The actions of joint tortfeasors unite and combine to form a single injury. See Marquez v. Mayer, 727 N.E.2d 768 (Ind.Ct. App.2000),trans. denied. Successive tortfeasors, on the other hand, are those whose respective negligent acts are independent of one another and produce different injuries. Cf. Cooper v. Robert Hall Clothes, Inc., 271 Ind. 63, 390 N.E.2d 155, 158 (1979) (addressing "independent and subsequent tort-feasor[s]"). After Huffman, where joint tortfeasors are involved, we examine the release itself to determine whether the plaintiff intended thereby to release all other tortfeasors. It appears that this has long been the rule in the case of successive tortfeasors. See Wecker v. Kilmer, 260 Ind. 198, 294 N.E.2d 132 (1973). Therefore, whether Burkle is classified as a successive tortfeasor or a joint tortfeasor, we examine the release itself to determine whether Depew intended thereby to absolve Burkle of liability.

Burkle cites two cases in support of his contention that a release that purports to release "all other persons and organizations" that might be liable does, in fact, do just that. See Stemm v. Estate of Dunlap, 717 N.E.2d 971 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); Dobson v. Citizens Gas and Coke Utility, 634 N.E.2d 1343 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). We note, however, that both of those cases involved joint tortfeasors, each of whom contributed to the original injury. In view of those facts, it is not surprising that this court determined that the plaintiff's release of liability covered all parties involved in the original tort. Moreover, we arrived at that conclusion after examining the language of the particular release in question.

Whatever principles may be extrapolated from Stemm and Dobson, it certainly is not accurate to say that they established a rule to the effect that when a plaintiff executes...