Lanner v. Fairview-University Medical Center12/12/2000
Petition for review denied February 21, 2001.
DOUGLAS LANNER, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE HEIRS OF HERBERT LANNER, APPELLANT,
v.
FAIRVIEW-UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, RIVERSIDE CAMPUS, ET AL., RESPONDENTS, HENRY FINK, M.D., ET AL., RESPONDENTS, SUBURBAN RADIOLOGIC CONSULTANTS, RESPONDENT, DR. SCOTT HOLTHAUS, ET AL.,
DEFENDANTS.
Hennepin County District Court File No. 988039
John O. Murrin, Murrin Law Firm, 4018 West 65th Street, Edina, MN 55435 (for appellant) Rebecca Egge Moos, Kelly A. Putney, Bassford, Lockhart, Truesdell & Briggs, P.A., 3550 Multifoods Tower, 33 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402; and Terence O'Loughlin, Ann D. Bray, Geraghty, O'Loughlin & Kenney, P.A., 1400 Ecolab University Center, 386 North Wabasha Street, St. Paul, MN 55102; and Paul C. Peterson, William L. Davidson, Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson, P.A., Suite 1700, 150 South Fifth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402 (for respondents)
Considered and decided by Lansing Presiding Judge, Stoneburner Judge, and Mulally Judge.* * Retired judge of the district court, serving as judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals by appointment pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Stoneburner, Judge
Affirmed; motion granted
Stoneburner, Judge
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Appellant brought a wrongful-death action against respondents, alleging respondents' medical malpractice resulted in his father's death. In support of his claim, appellant submitted expert affidavits under Minn. Stat. § 145.682 (1998). The district court dismissed appellant's claim after it determined that appellant's affidavits failed to satisfy the requirements of the statute. Because appellant's affidavits fail to establish causation, we affirm.
DECISION
A plaintiff must support a malpractice claim with an affidavit of expert identification under Minn. Stat. § 145.682, subd. 4 (1998). Absent an abuse of discretion, this court will not reverse a district court's dismissal of a suit pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 145.682. Anderson v. Rengachary, 608 N.W.2d 843, 846 (Minn. 2000). Statutory construction, however, is a question of law reviewed de novo. Stroud v. Hennepin County Med. Ctr., 556 N.W.2d 552, 555 (Minn. 1996).
Appellant's expert affidavits fail the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 145.682.
Under Minnesota law, plaintiffs who bring a medical-malpractice claim must file an affidavit that identifies (1) testifying experts; (2) the substance of their testimony; and (3) a summary of the basis for the experts' opinions. Minn. Stat. § 145.682, subd. 4(a). Failure to comply with the affidavit requirements mandates that the district court dismiss the plaintiff's cause of action with prejudice. Id. at subd. 6 (1998); see Lindberg v. Health Partners, Inc., 599 N.W.2d 572, 577 (Minn. 1999) (recognizing plaintiff's failure to file a sufficient affidavit results in mandatory dismissal).
The Minnesota Supreme Court first interpreted the substantive requirements of an expert affidavit in Sorenson v. St. Paul Ramsey Med. Ctr., 457 N.W.2d 188, 190 (Minn. 1990). The court noted that under Minn. Stat. § 145.682, subd. 4, the affidavit must set forth specific details concerning the expert's expected testimony, including (1) the applicable standard of care; (2) the acts or omissions that plaintiffs allege violated the standard of care; and (3) an outline of the chain of causation that resulted in the injury or death. Sorenson, 457 N.W.2d
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