Poweshiek County Nat. Bank v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 52717

• Decision Date: 06 February 1968
• Docket Number: No. 52717,52717
• Citation: 156 N.W.2d 671,261 Iowa 844
• Parties: POWESHIEK COUNTY NATIONAL BANK, Grinnell, Iowa, and John F. Bierman, Executors of the Estate of Ross v. Coutts, Appellees, v. NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

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156 N.W.2d 671 261 Iowa 844 POWESHIEK COUNTY NATIONAL BANK, Grinnell, Iowa, and John F. Bierman, Executors of the Estate of Ross v. Coutts, Appellees,
v.
NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant. No. 52717. Supreme Court of Iowa. Feb. 6, 1968.

[261 Iowa 846]

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Ross H. Sidney, Austin, Grefe & Sidney, Des Moines, Roger W. Sunleaf and McNeil & Bonham, Montezuma, for appellant.

John F. Bierman and C. M. Manly, Grinnell, for appellees.

SNELL, Justice.

This is an action at law to recover on an accident insurance policy issued by defendant. The executors of the estate of Ross V. Coutts, deceased, brought the action as plaintiffs. From judgment following a jury verdict for plaintiffs the defendant has appealed.

Mr. Coutts, a widower about 80 years old, held a membership in National Travel Club through which he held insurance providing certain accidental and death benefits. The insurance provided for medical benefits if the insured sustained a bodily injury caused by accident and a death benefit if the insured sustained a bodily injury caused by accident which resulted directly and independently of all other causes in his death.

On February 4, 1965 Mr. Coutts was a passenger on the cruise ship S. S. Oslofjord, a ship of the Norwegian American Lines, headed for the Mediterranean.

In the early evening he was present at the captain's welcoming cocktail party. There was some hearsay evidence and difference of opinion as to how much, if anything, he had to drink. The matter is of no importance because there is neither claim nor evidence of intoxication. There is evidence that he was not intoxicated.

At about 7:45 p.m. he left the cocktail party in company with several ladies and proceeded down the corridor toward a stairway heading to the deck below where the evening meal was to be served. While standing near the top of the stairs he suddenly and without warning pitched forward, face downward and fell to a landing half way between decks. He made [261 Iowa 847] no outcry but grasped the sweater of one of his companions and it went down the stairwell with him. He was a large man. His head struck the bulkhead on the landing. One witness said: 'It sounded almost like a watermelon when his head hit the bulkhead

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below.' The sea was calm and the ship steady. The stair and landing were unoccupied at the time.

Witnesses said he appeared to be unconscious. The ship's doctor and stewards were called.

The doctor's report said: 'On the deck was a man lying in an unconscious state. His pulse was normal. He was bleeding from his mouth and had a huge abrasion on the right side of his forehead, but it wasn't bleeding. He was brought to the ship's hospital immediately and put to bed.'

The doctor examined him and he was still unconscious. Within 15 minutes he regained consciousness and responded verbally to questions. He remained a patient in the ship's hospital until the ship reached Casablanca. He was under the care of the ship's doctor and nurses. Mr. Coutts' nurse in attendance was referred to as 'his sister' in the ship doctor's reports. A daily hospital record showing temperature and medication was kept. In addition thereto the doctor made a written 'Report from Ship's Doctor to the Captain,' signed at sea about two hours after the accident. He made an additional report signed at sea February 14, 1965, two days after Mr. Coutts left the ship. These reports were written in Norwegian and were identified in this case as plaintiffs' Exhibits 2 and 3. They were translated into English and identified in this record as plaintiffs' Exhibit 7. They were written in narrative form setting forth statistical information and the doctor's observations of the patient. The admissibility of these reports constitute one of the principal fighting points in this case. This problem will be considered infra. This appears as a part of the report of February 14.

'As time went on he was getting better and it was possible to have him out of bed, but he was as helpless as a small child. We could expect him to be in this condition 2 or 3 weeks in the future.

'He needed constant attention and his sister was with him [261 Iowa 848] both night and day. Under these circumstances I decided it would be best for him not to continue on his cruise.

'With all his multiple injuries, I felt it would be wise for him to return home. Something more serious could develop. I made arrangements for him to go home.

'He went by plane from Casablanca on the morning of February 13. He left the ship February 12. He was looked after by the plane's skipper and he went via Paris.

'He was in quite good condition when he left the ship. He still had his bandages on but was up and about and was able to care for himself with a little assistance from the stewardess on the plane.

'A report was sent with him as to what had happened to him and what care he had received. He was going directly to the hospital in his home town.

'Signed: At Sea February 14, 1965.

'Holge Norbye

'Ship's Doctor'

Mr. Coutts returned to Grinnell. He entered St. Francis Hospital on February 14. He remained a patient there until April 10 when he died. Regular hospital records were kept. He was attended by Dr. Brobyn and for short periods when Dr. Brobyn was absent by Dr. Light.

Both Dr. Norbye, the ship's doctor, and Dr. Brobyn, the attending physician in the Grinnell Hospital, died before the trial of this case. Hence, the difficulty in connecting Mr. Coutts' death with his fall.

I. One of the objections to the receipt of the ship's doctor's report was that it was written in narrative form. No authority has been cited to us on this point. Such a report might be objectionable because of its contents or other reasons but not because its contents or chronology appear in narrative form. This is illustrated by the Minnesota case, Brown v. Saint Paul City Ry. Co., 241 Minn. 15, 62 N.W.2d 688,

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44 A.L.R.2d 535. In that case plaintiff was injured while attempting to board a street car. There was a direct conflict in the evidence as to what happened. The doctor's report contained a narrative report of plaintiff's statement as to how the [261 Iowa 849] accident happened. The report was held inadmissible because of the hearsay and self-serving statements contained therein, but the narrative form of the report received no attention. We will refer to the rule as to content of a report in subsequent divisions.

II. When properly identified hospital records made by authorized professional personnel (doctors and nurses) are admissible in evidence to show the condition and treatment of the patient. This problem was considered and authorities reviewed in Gearhart v. Des Moines Railway Company, 237 Iowa 213, 21 N.W.2d 569. The statements appearing in Wigmore on Evidence were quoted with approval. There is a circumstantial guarantee of trustworthiness 'for the records are made and relied upon in affairs of life and death.' Loc. cit. 218, 21 N.W.2d loc. cit. 572.

To paraphrase what writers have said, courts should not reject as unreliable information that is accepted and relied upon in matters as important as life itself.

The rule is succinctly stated in Brown v. Saint Paul City Ry. Co., supra, Loc. cit. 696 of...