Galayda v. Lake Hosp. Sys., Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 December 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-2276,93-2276
• Citation: 644 N.E.2d 298,71 Ohio St.3d 421
• Parties: GALAYDA, Appellee, v. LAKE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS, INC., f.k.a. Lake County Memorial Hospitals, Inc.; Damian et al., Appellants.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 421

71 Ohio St.3d 421

644 N.E.2d 298

GALAYDA, Appellee, v. LAKE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS, INC., f.k.a. Lake County Memorial Hospitals, Inc.; Damian et al., Appellants.

No. 93-2276.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted Sept. 21, 1994.

Decided Dec. 30, 1994.

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT

1. R.C. 2323.57, which requires a trial court upon motion of a party to order that any future damages award in excess of $200,000 be paid in a series of periodic payments, is unconstitutional in that it violates the Right to Jury Trial Clause (Section 5, Article I) and the Due Process Clause (Section 16, Article I) of the Ohio Constitution.

2. R.C. 1343.03(C), which authorizes an award of prejudgment interest in a tort action against a defendant who failed to act in good faith to settle, does not violate either the Due Process Clause (Section 16, Article I) or the Right to Jury Trial Clause (Section 5, Article I) of the Ohio Constitution by imposing a penalty for exercise of that right.

On the morning of June 18, 1988, plaintiff-appellee Charles Galayda ("plaintiff") lost control of his minivan and hit a tree. He was transported to Lake County Hospital East by ambulance at 3:30 a.m.

While at Lake County Hospital, plaintiff underwent three operations which were performed by appellant, Dr. Armando B. Damian. During each of these procedures, Dr. Damian observed bile staining within the abdominal cavity. On each of these occasions, Dr. Damian visually examined the common bile duct by performing a Kocher maneuver. However, at no time did Dr. Damian order a cholangiogram, in which dye is injected into the bile duct system, which is then X-rayed to find leaks or injuries.

After the third surgery on July 6, 1988, plaintiff developed a high fever, gastrointestinal bleeding and adult respiratory syndrome. On July 12, 1988, Dr. Damian transferred plaintiff to Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, n.k.a. Metro Health Medical Center, by Lifeflight helicopter. Plaintiff was treated by Dr. Marc Eckhauser and Dr. Allen Cohen, who found a large volume of blood in his stomach. On July 13 and 14, 1988, Dr. Eckhauser performed two surgeries, removing part of plaintiff's stomach and a substantial amount of dead intestine. During the first of these operations, Dr. Eckhauser observed bile staining in the area of the pancreas, beneath the liver and around the bowel.

On July 20, 1988, Dr. Cohen performed a cholangiogram and discovered a leak in the common bile duct. Dr. Cohen bypassed the leak in order to give the common bile duct time to heal itself. Plaintiff was discharged from Cleveland Metro on November 10, 1988, but without the use of his left eye. He was rendered sightless in that eye as the result of infection which originated in the area of his abdominal surgeries. In addition, his surgeon, Dr. Eckhauser, described plaintiff as being a potential "gastrointestinal cripple" as a result of the removal of sections of his intestine and stomach.

Plaintiff commenced an action for medical malpractice in the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County on April 26, 1989 against Dr. Damian, Damian Clinic, Inc. ("defendants") and several other medical care providers who are not parties to this appeal. Following a trial in July 1991, the jury rendered a unanimous verdict in favor of plaintiff in the total amount of $2,781,710. In answering interrogatories submitted to it, the jury specifically found that the defendants, Dr. Damian and Damian Clinic, Inc., failed to meet the standards of care required of them by failing to order a cholangiogram in any of plaintiff's operations and by failing to transfer him to a hospital capable of treating his injuries. The jury awarded plaintiff $800,000 as past damages and $1,981,710 in future damages, of which $1,396,125 was designated as compensation for pain and suffering and $585,585 represented lost wages. ¹

Defendants timely filed a joint motion for periodic payments of future damages pursuant to R.C. 2323.57(C). Contemporaneously, plaintiff filed a motion for prejudgment interest pursuant to R.C. 1343.03(C). The trial court granted plaintiff's motion for prejudgment interest. However, the trial court found R.C. 2323.57, which provides for the periodic payment of future damages, to be unconstitutional, and therefore denied the defendants' motion.

The Eighth District Court of Appeals, in a unanimous opinion, affirmed the judgment of the trial court.

This cause is now before this court pursuant to the allowance of a motion to certify the record.

Spangenberg, Shibley, Traci, Lancione & Liber, Peter H. Weinberger, Robert V. Traci and James A. Marx, Cleveland, for appellee.

Jacobsen, Maynard, Tuschman & Kalur, Janis L. Small and Anthony P. Dapore, Cleveland, and Fritz Byers, Toledo, for appellants.

Jeffries, Kube, Forrest & Monteleone and J. Michael Monteleone, Cleveland, urging affirmance for amicus curiae, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Bricker & Eckler, James J. Hughes, Jr. and Catherine M. Ballard, Columbus, urging reversal for amici curiae, Ohio Hosp. Ass'n and Ohio State Medical Ass'n.

A. WILLIAM SWEENEY, Justice.

R.C. 2323.57 ² mandates that, upon timely motion of a party, awards of future damages in excess of $200,000 be paid periodically rather than in a lump sum in medical malpractice claims. R.C. 1343.03(C), ³ Ohio's prejudgment interest statute, provides for an award of interest to be granted in favor of successful tort plaintiffs, when the trial court finds that the defendant failed to act in good faith to achieve pretrial settlement of the dispute. We are called upon in this case to determine the constitutionality of each of these statutes. We affirm the findings of the lower courts that R.C. 1343.03(C) survives a constitutional challenge, while R.C. 2323.57 does not.

I Constitutionality of Ohio's Periodic Payment of Future Damages Statute

Both lower courts found that R.C. 2323.57 violates the Right to Jury Trial Clause of Section 5, Article I and the Due Process Clause of Section 16, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

Section 5, Article I of the Ohio Constitution provides that:

"The right of trial by jury shall be inviolate, except that, in civil cases, laws may be passed to authorize the rendering of a verdict by the concurrence of not less than three-fourths of the jury."

It is well established that the right of trial by jury in this state is a fundamental and substantial right guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution. Sorrell v. Thevenir (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 415, 421, 633 N.E.2d 504, 510; Kneisley v. Lattimer-Stevens Co. (1988), 40 Ohio St.3d 354, 356, 533 N.E.2d 743, 746; and Cleveland Ry. Co. v. Halliday (1933), 127 Ohio St. 278, 284, 188 N.E. 1, 3. This court has held there is a fundamental constitutional right to a trial by jury in negligence actions. Sorrell, supra, 69 Ohio St.3d at 422, 633 N.E.2d at 510; Kneisley, supra, 40 Ohio St.3d at 357, 533 N.E.2d at 746. Included in that right is the right to have a jury determine all questions of fact, including the amount of damages to which the plaintiff is entitled. Sorrell, supra, 69 Ohio St.3d at 422, 633 N.E.2d at 510.

R.C. 2323.57(C) requires a trial judge, upon timely motion of any party, to order that any future damages award which exceeds $200,000 be paid in periodic installments rather than in a lump sum upon entry of judgment. Moreover, R.C. 2323.57(E)(2) provides, in pertinent part, that "[t]he total amount paid under this division and the periodic payments plan shall not exceed the amount of the judgment." R.C. 2323.57(F)(1) further mandates that, if a plaintiff dies prior to the receipt of all of the periodic payments, all payments for future medical expenses and for noneconomic loss, such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, disfigurement, mental anguish and any other intangible loss, shall cease.

In Ohio, a plaintiff is entitled to an award of damages to compensate him for losses which he is reasonably certain to incur in the future. Pennsylvania Co. v. Files (1901), 65 Ohio St. 403, 407, 62 N.E. 1047, 1047; Roberts v. Mut. Mfg. & Supply Co. (1984), 16 Ohio App.3d 324, 16 OBR 355, 475 N.E.2d 797. Under the common law of Ohio, future damages must be reduced to present value, and a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction to that effect. Maus v. New York, Chicago & St. Louis RR. Co. (1956), 165 Ohio St. 281, 59 O.O. 366, 135 N.E.2d 253, paragraph one of the syllabus. Thus in Ohio, a jury is to return a verdict not in an amount reflecting the actual damages it deems to be reasonably certain to occur in the future, but rather in a reduced amount representing the present value of those actual damages.

It is evident that application of R.C. 2323.57 to a jury verdict does not merely mandate the manner in which a judgment shall be paid; rather, it requires the trial court to further reduce the jury's award of damages already once reduced to present value. Application of the statute quite simply results in a successful That R.C. 2323.57 regulates more than merely the manner in which a judgment is paid and instead reduces the actual value of the verdict can be illustrated by comparing two hypothetical plaintiffs, both of whom receive future damages awards of $1,000,000. Assume the first plaintiff receives his entire judgment in a lump sum, but determines to use the proceeds to purchase an annuity. Assume the second plaintiff is subjected to application of R.C. 2323.57. Obviously the stream of income produced by investment in an annuity by the first plaintiff of the entire $1,000,000 will exceed the payout generated in the second case, where the entirety of the judgment (except the first $200,000) will be received in the future with no regard for the effect of inflation and no interest or other investment appreciation. This is assured by application of R.C. 2323.57(E)(2), which specifically provides that "[t]he total [lump sum] amount paid under this division and the periodic payments...