Sioux Valley Hospital Ass'n v. Jones County, 13288

• Decision Date: 11 August 1981
• Docket Number: No. 13288,13288
• Parties: SIOUX VALLEY HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. JONES COUNTY, South Dakota, Defendant and Appellee. . Considered on Briefs
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Page 835

309 N.W.2d 835

SIOUX VALLEY HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. JONES COUNTY, South Dakota, Defendant and Appellee.

No. 13288.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Considered on Briefs Aug. 11, 1981.

Decided Sept. 2, 1981.

Edwin E. Evans of Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, Sioux Falls, for plaintiff and appellant.

Charles D. Kell, State's Atty., Jones County, Murdo, for defendant and appellee.

DUNN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment denying Sioux Valley Hospital Association (appellant) reimbursement for the cost of emergency care given to a resident of Jones County. We reverse and remand.

On April 11, 1979, Julie Elrod gave birth to a premature infant girl at St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre, South Dakota. A few hours later, the baby was transported by ambulance to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for emergency care in the intensive care nursery. She remained in Sioux Valley Hospital for about six weeks. The cost of hospitalization was $7,410.12. The parents (Elrods) of the infant were life-long residents of Jones County, South Dakota.

Appellant served Jones County with a written notice of the hospitalization of the baby pursuant to the requirements of SDCL 28-13-34. ¹ Ten months later a claim under SDCL 28-13-33, ² to hold the county liable for emergency hospitalization of an indigent person was filed with the Jones County Auditor and presented to the county commissioners at their regular meeting. Without making a formal finding regarding the issue of indigency, the county commissioners denied poor relief liability acknowledging that the Elrods had not applied for assistance and that they were both employed. The hospital then commenced this suit in circuit court against the county.

At trial, the Elrods testified that their joint gross earnings for 1979 were $10,920.97. The total bill for the premature birth of their daughter including ambulance, clinic and hospital care was $10,607.12. They are paying $120.00 per month on the medical costs incurred from their daughter and had a balance owing of $8,996.00 at the time of trial. The amount owed to Sioux Valley Hospital was $6,754.00. The Elrods own no real estate, stocks, bonds or investments. They pay rent of $120.00 per month for a furnished basement apartment. They own two older motor vehicles and some household goods. The circuit court found for the county, stating that the determination of the county commissioners that the Elrods were not indigent was not clearly erroneous. The circuit court did not make a finding on the indigency issue.

Appellant contends that the trial court erred in applying a clearly erroneous standard of review to the county commissioners' determination that the Elrods were not indigent. We agree. An appeal from an action of the county commissioners shall be heard and determined de novo in circuit court. SDCL 7-8-30. Thus, the circuit court should determine anew the question of indigency, independent of the county commissioners' decision.

The circuit court has a duty to make findings of fact upon every issue raised by the pleadings and its failure to do so is reversible error if a substantial right has been prejudiced. Grady v. Commers Interiors, Inc., 268 N.W.2d 823 (S.D.1978); Stugelmayer v. Ulmer, 260 N.W.2d 236 (S.D.1977). To determine whether a substantial right has been prejudiced, this court must decide if sufficient evidence exists in the record on which a finding in favor of the party alleging reversible error can be made. Id. at 240.

In this instance, the circuit court failed to enter a finding on the question of indigency. The circuit court did find that the Elrods incurred a total debt of $10,607.12 for the treatment of their daughter; their joint earnings were $10,920.97 for 1979; they had limited assets; and that they were paying $120.00 per month to creditors for the medical expenses. These facts are sufficient to support a possible finding of indigency as defined in SDCL 28-13-27(2). We are not...