Shinholster v. Annapolis Hosp. Shinholster

• Decision Date: 30 July 2004
• Docket Number: Docket No. 123720,Docket No. 123721.
• Citation: 471 Mich. 540
• Parties: SHINHOLSTER v. ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL SHINHOLSTER v. ADAMS
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

471 Mich. 540

SHINHOLSTER v. ANNAPOLIS HOSPITAL

SHINHOLSTER v. ADAMS

Docket No. 123720

Docket No. 123721.

Michigan Supreme Court

Argued April 20, 2004

July 30, 2004

(Calendar No. 8).

Mark Granzotto, P.C. (by Mark Granzotto), and The Thurswell Firm (by Judith A. Susskind) for the plaintiff.

Tanoury, Corbet, Shaw & Nauts (by Linda M. Garbarino) and Dolenga & Dolenga, P.L.L.C. (by Michael D. Dolenga), for Annapolis Hospital.

Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap, P.C. (by Graham K. Crabtree), for Mary Ellen Flaherty, M.D., and Katherine Adams, Personal Representative of the Estate of Dennis E. Adams, M.D., deceased.

Amici Curiae:

Kerr, Russell and Weber, PLC (by Richard D. Weber and Joanne Geha Swanson), for Michigan State Medical Society.

Robert W. Powell for Ford Motor Company.

MARKMAN, J. We granted leave to appeal to consider the following three issues: (1) whether, and to what extent, MCL 600.6304 permits a trier of fact in a medical malpractice action to consider the plaintiff's own pre-treatment negligence to offset, at least in part, the defendant's fault; (2) whether the medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap of MCL 600.1483 applies to a wrongful death action based on an underlying claim of medical malpractice, and assuming such cap applies, whether an action filed under the wrongful death act is subject to the higher medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap of § 1483; and (3) whether, and to what extent, MCL 600.6311 applies in a wrongful death action. Regarding the first issue, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision that MCL 600.6304(1) did not permit the trier of fact to offset defendants' fault on the basis of plaintiff's alleged pre-treatment negligence.¹ On the basis of the clear and unambiguous language of § 6304(1), we hold that a trier of fact is permitted in "personal injury, property damage, [and] wrongful death" tort actions, which necessarily include medical malpractice actions, to consider a plaintiff's pre-treatment negligence in offsetting a defendant's fault where reasonable minds could differ with regard to whether such negligence constituted "a proximate cause"—a foreseeable, natural, and probable cause—of the plaintiff's injury and damages. Further, on the basis of the evidence presented, we believe that reasonable minds could find that plaintiff's pre-treatment negligence in this case—her failing to regularly take her prescribed blood pressure medication during the year preceding her fatal stroke—constituted a foreseeable, natural, and probable cause of her fatal stroke, and thus we remand this case to the trial court for proceedings consistent with the opinions of this Court.

Regarding the second issue, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision that the higher medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap of § 1483 applies to a wrongful death action. Consistent with our recent decision in Jenkins v Patel, 471 Mich 158, 173; 684 NW2d 346 (2004), in which we held that the medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap of MCL 600.1483 applies to a wrongful death action based on an underlying claim of medical malpractice, we affirm the decisions of both lower courts and hold that the higher medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap of § 1483 applies where the injured person, at any time before his death and as a result of a defendant's negligent conduct, fits within the ambit of MCL 600.1483(1)(a), (b), or (c).

Regarding the third issue, the Court of Appeals, finding that MCL 600.6311 applies in this case because both the personal representative and the decedent were or would have been sixty years of age or older at the time of judgment, affirmed the trial court's decision that plaintiff's award of future damages should not be reduced to present value. Because the term "plaintiff," as used in § 6311, refers, for purposes of a wrongful death action, to the decedent, and because Mrs. Shinholster, the decedent, was sixty-one at her death and at the time of judgment, we agree with the trial court's interpretation of § 6311, and hold that, on remand, the trial court cannot reduce any future damages awarded to plaintiff to their present value.

I. BACKGROUND

In this medical malpractice action, Betty Shinholster (Shinholster), the decedent, made four visits to defendant Annapolis Hospital in April 1995, complaining of dizziness. Defendant Dr. Dennis Adams (Adams)² examined plaintiff on April 7 and April 10, and defendant Dr. Mary Ellen Flaherty (Flaherty) examined Shinholster on April 14. Shinholster's fourth visit on April 16 was precipitated by a massive stroke, after which she entered a coma for several months and died at the age of sixty-one. On behalf of his deceased wife, Johnnie Shinholster filed suit against Adams, Flaherty, and Annapolis Hospital, alleging that they had negligently treated his wife on April 10 and April 14 by failing to recognize that she had been experiencing transient ischemic attacks, or "mini-strokes" that often precede a full-blown, serious stroke.

The jury found in plaintiff's favor and awarded the following damages: (1) $220,000 for past economic damages; (2) $564,600 for past noneconomic damages; (3) $9,700 each year in future economic damages for the years 1999 through 2003; and (4) $62,500 each year in future noneconomic damages for the years 1999 through 2003. The jury further concluded that Shinholster had been twenty percent comparatively negligent in her actions after April 7, 1995, by not regularly taking her prescribed blood pressure medication. Consistent with the jury's verdict, the trial court entered judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $916,480, "subject to any applicable statutory limitation, statutory cap, adjustment regarding the computation of comparative negligence or adjustment pursuant to the collateral source rule." The trial court denied defendants' motion for reconsideration. The Court of Appeals affirmed but remanded for the recalculation of damages. Shinholster v Annapolis Hosp, 255 Mich App 339, 360; 660 NW2d 361 (2003). Defendants now appeal to this Court.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Statutory interpretation is an issue of law that is reviewed de novo. People v Morey, 461 Mich 325, 329; 603 NW2d 250 (1999).

III. ANALYSIS

This Court's primary task in construing a statute is to discern and give effect to the intent of the Legislature. Murphy v Michigan Bell Tel Co, 447 Mich 93, 98; 523 NW2d 310 (1994). "The words of a statute provide 'the most reliable evidence of [the Legislature's] intent . . . .' " Sun Valley Foods Co v Ward, 460 Mich 230, 236; 596 NW2d 119 (1999), quoting United States v Turkette, 452 US 576, 593; 101 S Ct 2524; 69 L Ed 2d 246 (1981). In discerning legislative intent, a court must "give effect to every word, phrase, and clause in a statute . . . ." State Farm Fire & Cas Co v Old Republic Ins Co, 466 Mich 142, 146; 644 NW2d 715 (2002). The Court must consider "both the plain meaning of the critical word or phrase as well as 'its placement and purpose in the statutory scheme.' " Sun Valley, supra at 237, quoting Bailey v United States, 516 US 137, 145; 116 S Ct 501; 133 L Ed 2d 472 (1995). "The statutory language must be read and understood in its grammatical context, unless it is clear that something different was intended." Sun Valley, supra at 237. "If the language of a statute is unambiguous, the Legislature must have intended the meaning clearly expressed, and the statute must be enforced as written." Id. at 236.

A. PLAINTIFF'S PRE-TREATMENT NEGLIGENCE

1. MCL 600.6304

MCL 600.6304 generally provides that the trier of fact in a tort action shall determine by percent the comparative negligence of all those who are a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury and subsequent damages. In relevant part § 6304 provides:

(1) In an action based on tort . . . seeking damages for personal injury . . . or wrongful death involving fault of more than 1 person, . . . the court . . . shall instruct the jury to answer special interrogatories or, if there is no jury, shall make findings indicating both of the following:

(a) The total amount of each plaintiff's damages.

(b) The percentage of the total fault of all persons that contributed to the death or injury, including each plaintiff . . . .

(2) In determining the percentages of fault under subsection (1)(b), the trier of fact shall consider both the nature of the conduct of each person at fault and the extent of the causal relation between the conduct and the damages claimed.

* * *

(6) If an action includes a medical malpractice claim against a person or entity described in section 5838a(1), 1 of the following applies:

(a) If the plaintiff is determined to be without fault under subsections (1) and (2), the liability of each defendant is joint and several . . . .

(b) If the plaintiff is determined to have fault under subsections (1) and (2) . . . the court shall determine whether all or part of a party's share of the obligation is uncollectible from that party, and shall reallocate any uncollectible amount among the other parties . . . .

* * *

(8) As used in this section, "fault" includes an act, an omission, conduct, including intentional conduct, a breach of warranty, or a breach of a legal duty, or any conduct that could give rise to the imposition of strict liability, that is a proximate cause of damage sustained by a party.³

On the basis of this statute, defendants contend that the trial court erred in not allowing the jury to consider Shinholster's behavior as manifesting comparative negligence when she failed to regularly take her prescribed blood pressure medication for at least a year before her first visit to the emergency room.

While the Court of Appeals acknowledged that § 6304, on its face, requires a trier of fact to consider such negligence, it nonetheless relied on inferences drawn from this Court's decision in Podvin v Eickhorst, 373 Mich 175; 128 NW2d 523 (1964), and authority from other states to reach its holding that the statute did not...