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Stodgell v. City of Warroad9/16/2003
In this medical malpractice action, appellant challenges the district court order denying its motion to dismiss or for summary judgment. Appellant contends that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because respondent failed to meet the expert-affidavit requirements under Minn. Stat. §á145.682 (2000) and that it was entitled to immunity under the Good Samaritan law, Minn. Stat. §á604A.01 (2002), as well as official immunity. Respondent moved to strike the discussion of the expert-affidavit issue in appellant's brief. We hold that the order denying the motion to dismiss based on the expert-affidavit issue is not appealable, we decline to extend discretionary review to the issue, and we grant respondent's motion to strike that portion of appellant's brief addressing the issue. As to the immunity issues, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
FACTS
Respondent Tracy Eilene Stodgell's son Dillon, who was born on October 10, 1995, underwent a heart transplant shortly after his birth. On October 18, 1997, Dillon became ill, and his mother brought him to the emergency room of Roseau Area Hospital. The physician, who concluded that Dillon was suffering from probable congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and other potential problems, directed the staff to arrange for an ambulance to transfer him to a hospital in Fargo, North Dakota.
Appellant City of Warroad, d/b/a Warroad Rescue (the city), received the request for an ambulance at 11:28 a.m., and it arrived at the hospital at 11:55 a.m. The ambulance, along with its attendants, left the hospital at 12:30 p.m., transporting Dillon on a non-emergency basis. Another patient, who had a broken leg, was being transported in the same ambulance. A registered nurse, who was certified in advanced cardiac life support and was a neonatal advanced life support instructor, accompanied them. En route to Fargo, the ambulance delivered the other patient to a Grand Forks hospital.
After leaving Grand Forks and before arriving at Fargo, Dillon suffered a probable cardiac arrest in the ambulance, requiring emergency treatment. He arrived at the Fargo hospital at 3:40 p.m., suffered a cardiac arrest at 8:39 p.m., and was pronounced dead at 9:20 p.m., having suffered severe acute heart rejection.
Stodgell brought a medical malpractice action against several medical-care providers, including the city. Specifically, Stodgell alleges that the city's ambulance attendants were negligent as follows: (1) in failing to transport Dillon as an emergency, rather than a non-emergency, patient; (2) in transporting another adult patient at the same time that Dillon was transported; (3) in failing to have adequate medical supplies in the ambulance; (4) in failing to consult with physicians in Grand Forks, North Dakota; (5) in failing to provide medical care to Dillon in transit; and (6) in failing to medicate, intubate, and ventilate Dillon during his transport to the Fargo hospital.
The city moved for summary judgment on the grounds that it was immune from liability under Minnesota's Good Samaritan law, Minn. Stat. §á604A.01, and the official immunity doctrine. It also moved for dismissal on the ground that Stodgell's expert affidavits were legally insufficient.
The district court ruled that neither the Good Samaritan law nor official immunity provided immunity to the city. It also determined that respondent's expert affidavits were determined to be legally sufficient in an earlier appeal. This appeal followed. We issued an order questioning whether we had jurisdiction over the expert-affidavit issue, and Stodgell moved to strike the portion of the city's brief addressing that issue.
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