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Caswell v. Yost9/10/2003
Plaintiff appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in her medical malpractice suit. AFFIRMED.
The plaintiff appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants in her medical malpractice suit. She contends the district court erred when it found her claims to be time barred. Alternatively, she argues the court erred by rejecting her argument that the statute of limitations was tolled by the continuous treatment doctrine and the fraudulent concealment doctrine. We affirm.
Background Facts and Proceedings
On August 2, 1996, Patricia Caswell was seen by Dr. Achille Pandullo, a family practitioner at Integra Health for a rash on the upper half of her body. The rash had persisted for three or four months. Dr. Pandullo referred Caswell to a dermatologist, Dr. Andrew Bean at Dermatology, P.C. Caswell was first seen by Dr. Bean on August 22, 1996. Dr. Bean took a history, conducted an examination, took a biopsy and prescribed medications for her rash. Following Caswell's visit, Dr. Bean wrote a letter to Dr. Pandullo and Dr. William Yost stating her skin eruptions were suspicious of connective tissue disorder, more commonly known as lupus, and that he was starting her on Prednisone. Caswell was told by both Dr. Bean and Dr. Pandullo that she likely had lupus, that there was no cure for lupus, and that she would have good and bad days.
On September 12, 1996, Caswell had a follow-up visit with Dr. Bean. Her rash was better but had not cleared up completely. On September 16, 1996, Dr. Bean wrote a letter to Dr. Yost stating that Caswell's condition could be due to a drug reaction to Dilantin, and "it may be reasonable to switch her over to Tegretol for seizure control if her eruption reappears." Caswell called Dr. Bean's office on September 30, 1996, to inform him that the rash had returned, and he prescribed additional medication. Caswell did not return to see Dr. Bean until September 12, 1997. From September 1996 to September 1997 Caswell's rash worsened, and it became noticeable to other people. She described it as "horrible." In August 1997 the rash covered Caswell's entire body. Her feet were swollen and crusted across the bottom, and her hands bled because her skin was so thin. The rash did not begin to clear up until she stopped taking Dilantin. At her September 1997 appointment, Dr. Bean informed Caswell that he had suspected her rash could be caused by Dilantin, and he showed her the letter he had written to Dr. Yost on September 16, 1996. Until this appointment, Caswell was under the mistaken belief that she had lupus.
On June 21, 1999, Caswell filed a petition naming as defendants Dr. Yost, Iowa Physicians Medical Foundation d/b/a Integra Health and Central Iowa Hospital Corporation. On September 8, 1999, Caswell filed an amended petition naming Dr. Bean and Dermatology, P.C. as defendants. In her petition Caswell alleged defendants were negligent for failing to properly diagnose and treat her skin rash condition. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment contending Caswell's claims were barred by the two-year statute of limitations in Iowa Code section 614.1(9) (1999). In granting defendants' motion, the district court found Caswell was on inquiry notice by at least Christmas of 1996 that her skin condition was not improving and, thus, her suit was filed outside the applicable limitations period. The court also found nothing in the case to compel the application of the continuous treatment doctrine or the fraudulent concealment doctrine. Caswell appeals.
Standard of Review
We review a summary judgment ruling for corrections of errors of law. Howell
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