Mitchell v. Bingham Memorial Hosp.

• Decision Date: 16 July 1997
• Docket Number: No. 23110,23110
• Citation: 942 P.2d 544,130 Idaho 420
• Parties: Lea MITCHELL and Mark Mitchell, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BINGHAM MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, Defendant-Respondent. Twin Falls, March 1997 Term
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

Page 544

942 P.2d 544

130 Idaho 420

Lea MITCHELL and Mark Mitchell, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BINGHAM MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 23110.

Supreme Court of Idaho,

Twin Falls, March 1997 Term.

July 16, 1997.

Lowell N. Hawkes, Chtd., Pocatello, for appellants. Lowell N. Hawkes, argued, Pocatello.

Tolman Law Office, Twin Falls, for respondent. Jennifer K. Brizee, argued, Twin Falls.

SILAK, Justice.

This is a hospital nursing malpractice case. The nature of the appeal involves the issue of whether the district court properly dismissed appellants' complaint for failure to comply with the notice requirements of the Idaho Tort Claims Act. We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Appellant Lea Mitchell (Mrs. Mitchell) delivered healthy twin boys at Respondent Bingham Memorial Hospital (the hospital) on July 20, 1992. Because of a concern for toxemia she was placed on magnesium sulfate which was administered through an IV catheter. Later on July 20, 1992, Mrs. Mitchell was overdosed with the magnesium sulfate. The overdose resulted in respiratory arrest necessitating emergency "code blue" resuscitation procedures followed by the transfer of Mrs. Mitchell to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital where she remained until discharged on July 23, 1992.

The Mitchells were initially told by hospital personnel that the overdose was a result of the malfunction or defect in the medication infusion machine. Two months later, Mrs. Mitchell's doctor told the Mitchells that the machine had been checked out by the factory and was not defective, and that the overdose was a result of the nurse's error, probably in pushing the "flush" switch on the machine which would have triggered the overdose.

Thereafter, the hospital repeatedly billed the Mitchells for the ICU expenses. The Mitchells retained counsel when the hospital credit manager threatened to sue them for the bill. According to the Mitchells' counsel, Lowell Hawkes (Hawkes), he spoke with the hospital administrator, Robert Peterson (Peterson), about the Mitchells' claim on January 8th and 13th, 1993, and met with him on January 20, 1993, a date chosen by Peterson. Hawkes stated in his affidavit that at the January 20, 1993 meeting, he furnished copies of the documents that identified the Mitchells, the hospitalization and charges at issue, and their damages as known at that time. He also stated that Peterson acknowledged liability for the nursing overdose and the error of the hospital in compounding the problem by making collection demands. Peterson allegedly offered to pay all of Mrs. Mitchell's additional medical bills resulting from the overdose, and Hawkes' legal fees to a certain limit. Hawkes also stated that Peterson gave him the name of the hospital's insurance agent, and that he met with the agent for a settlement conference on April 15, 1993. The hospital offered to settle the case for $5,000 in June 1993, which according to Hawkes was not accepted because the Mitchells had not fully ascertained their damages. Hawkes stated that he and the insurance agent discussed the case over a period of many months in 1993, and that he provided the insurance agent with updated information relative to the damages. Hawkes stated that the agent raised the notice of tort claim issue for the first time on April 18, 1994.

In a supplemental affidavit, Hawkes stated that in his phone conversation with Peterson on January 13, 1993, settlement of the claim was discussed, and that Peterson confirmed an interest in resolving the claim informally and without publicity. Hawkes also stated that in this conversation, Peterson "made the promise of acknowledging the hospital's error and a good faith follow-up meeting in giving me the January 20th date to meet."

In his second supplemental affidavit, Peterson acknowledged that he had a conversation with Hawkes on January 20, 1993, but that he did not consider this conversation to be a presentation of a claim for specific damages against the hospital. Peterson further acknowledged that he knew Mrs. Mitchell had had an overdose and that she would not have been in the ICU except for the overdose. He stated that he and Hawkes discussed the hospital's position in pursuing the ICU charges. However, Peterson denied having ever told Hawkes to withhold filing a notice of tort claim. In July 1994, the Mitchells filed a Prelitigation Hearing Panel Request with the State Board of Medicine. According to Hawkes, during those proceedings the hospital admitted that the overdose took place and only disputed the extent of Mrs. Mitchell's damages.

The Mitchells filed their complaint on February 1, 1995. In June 1995, the hospital filed a motion to dismiss claiming that the Mitchells did not file a timely notice of tort claim. The district court treated the motion as one for summary judgment and granted it, ruling that the Mitchells had not complied with the notice requirements of the Idaho Tort Claims Act (ITCA) and that the hospital had not waived the right to assert this defense. The Mitchells thereafter filed a motion for reconsideration which the district court denied. The Mitchells appeal.

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL

1. Whether the 180 day notice requirement under the ITCA, I.C. § 6-906, began to run on the date of Mrs. Mitchell's overdose, or on the date the Mitchells were told that the overdose was due to nursing error.

2. Whether the phone conversations on January 8 and 13, 1993, between the Mitchell's attorney and the hospital administrator, constituted oral notice under I.C. § 6-906; and whether the documentation submitted by the Mitchell's attorney to the hospital administrator on January 20, 1993, constituted written notice under I.C. § 6-906.

3. Whether the medical malpractice prelitigation statutes preempt application of the ITCA to the county hospital in this case.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Because the construction and application of a legislative act present pure questions of law, this Court reviews such questions freely. Fox v. State, 129 Idaho 881, 883, 934 P.2d 947, 949 (Ct.App.1997); State v. Browning, 123 Idaho 748, 749, 852 P.2d 500, 501 (Ct.App.1993).

On an appeal from a summary judgment order, this Court applies the same standard of review as that used by the district court when originally ruling on the motion. Avila v. Wahlquist, 126 Idaho 745, 747, 890 P.2d 331, 333 (1995); Farm Credit Bank of Spokane v. Stevenson, 125 Idaho 270, 272, 869 P.2d 1365, 1367 (1994). Upon review, the Court must liberally construe facts in the existing record in favor of the nonmoving party, and draw all reasonable inferences from the record in favor of the nonmoving party. Avila, 126 Idaho at 747, 890 P.2d at 333; Bonz v. Sudweeks, 119 Idaho 539, 541, 808 P.2d 876, 878 (1991). Summary judgment is appropriate " '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.' " McCoy v. Lyons, 120 Idaho 765, 769, 820 P.2d 360, 364 (1991) (quoting I.R.C.P. 56(c)). If there are conflicting inferences contained in the record or reasonable minds might reach different conclusions, summary judgment must be denied. Bonz, 119 Idaho at 541, 808 P.2d at 878.

IV. ANALYSIS

A. The 180-Day Notice Requirement Under The ITCA Began To Run On The Date Of Mrs. Mitchell's Overdose, July 20, 1992.

Preliminarily, we note that the ITCA does apply to Bingham Memorial Hospital. The [A]ny county, city, municipal corporation, health district, school district, irrigation district, special improvement or taxing district, or any other political subdivision or public corporation. As used in this act, the terms "county" and "city" also mean state licensed hospitals and attached nursing homes established by counties pursuant to title 31, chapter 36, Idaho Code, or jointly by cities and counties pursuant to title 31, chapter 37, Idaho Code.

ITCA, I.C. § 6-901, et seq., governs tort claims against governmental entities. I.C. § 6-902(3) defines "governmental entity" to include the state and political subdivisions. "Political subdivision" is defined as follows:

I.C. § 6-902(2) (1990). (Emphasis added). Thus, based upon the clear language of I.C. § 6-902(2), claims against the hospital are governed by the ITCA, and no party has challenged the statute's applicability. The hospital is entitled to timely notification of any claims being presented against it pursuant to I.C. § 6-906. We address the medical malpractice preemption argument below.

I.C. § 6-906 provides:

All claims against a political subdivision arising under the provisions of this act ... shall be presented to and filed with the clerk or secretary of the political subdivision within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the claim arose or reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is later.

This Court has held that "[k]nowledge of facts which would put a reasonably prudent person on inquiry is the equivalent to knowledge of the wrongful act and will start the running of the [180 days]." McQuillen v. City of Ammon, 113 Idaho 719, 722, 747 P.2d 741, 744 (1987). The Court has further held that the statutory period begins to run from the occurrence of the wrongful act even if the full extent of damages is not known at that time. Id. See also Ralphs v. City of Spirit Lake, 98 Idaho 225, 227, 560 P.2d 1315, 1317 (1977). In a recent case, the Court of Appeals clarified the amount of knowledge required to begin the notice period: "The statute does not begin running when a person fully understands the mechanism of the injury and the government's role, but rather when he or she is aware of such facts that would cause a reasonably prudent person to inquire further into the circumstances surrounding the incident." Mallory v. City of Montpelier, 126 Idaho 446, 448, 885 P.2d 1162, 1164 (Ct.App.1994). The claimant in Mallory had argued that the...