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Griffiths v. Doctors Hospital11/12/2002
JUDGMENT: Affirmed in part; Reversed in part, and Remanded
Appellant Timothy Griffiths, individually and as the administrator of the estates of Taylor Nicole and Nathan James Griffiths, appeals from a summary judgment of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas dismissing his wrongful death action against appellees Rose Center for Women, Diane Duckworth, D.O., and Michael Eighan, M.D.
" I. The trial court erred in granting defendants-appellees' Rose Center for Women, Diane R. Duckworth D.O., and Michael J. Eighan M.D.'s motion for summary judgment."
"II. The trial court erred when it denied plaintiff-appellant's motion for leave to amend plaintiff's complaint to add Kristina Griffiths as a party plaintiff to include her individual malpractice claim and plaintiff's loss of spousal support."
In December 1998, Kristina Griffiths discovered that she was pregnant. During her pregnancy, she was treated by Drs. Duckworth and Eighan of the Rose Center for Women, all appellees in the instant case.
On December 16, 1998, Mrs. Griffiths had an ultrasound, which revealed that she had a possible bicornate uterus and uterine fibroids. The ultrasound also revealed that she was carrying twins.
In December 1998, and again in January 1999, Mrs. Griffiths had two episodes of heavy vaginal bleeding. On March 21, 1999, she presented to Doctor's Hospital, complaining of abdominal pain and premature labor. She was admitted to the hospital. The next day, she was transferred to Akron General Medical Center.
On March 25, 1999, Mrs. Griffiths suffered a placental abruption and delivered both of the fetuses, which were only twenty-one weeks old. The fetuses survived for approximately one and one-half hours after delivery. The stated cause of death was extreme prematurity with underlying causes of premature labor, placental abruption, and incompetent cervix. No resuscitation efforts were made on behalf of the fetuses based on an earlier decision made by appellant and Mrs. Griffiths following a discussion with Dr. Stewart concerning the significance of birth at twenty-one weeks.
On March 20, 2000, appellant filed the instant action alleging medical malpractice and wrongful death in Cuyahoga County. The named defendants were Doctors Hospital, Northeast Ohio Emergency Affiliates, the Rose Center for Women, Diane Duckworth, D.O., and Michael Eighan, M.D. The case was transferred to Stark County on March 11, 2001. On May 5, 2001, appellant voluntarily dismissed defendant Northeast Ohio Emergency Affiliates. On April 2, 2002, the court entered summary judgment in favor of Doctor's Hospital. Appellant did not appeal from this judgment. On February 7, 2002, the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment filed by appellees in the instant case.
On February 11, 2002, appellant filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint, seeking to add Kristina Griffiths as a party, and to allege additional claims on her behalf. The court overruled the motion on March 18, 2002.
I.
In his first assignment of error, appellant argues that the court erred in dismissing his action on summary judgment, finding that he did not have a cause of action for wrongful death of the prematurely born twins.
Summary judgment proceedings present the appellate court with the unique opportunity of reviewing the evidence in the same manner as did the trial court. Smiddy v. The Wedding Party, Inc. (1987), 30 Ohio St.3d 35, 36. As such, we must refer to Civ.R. 56, which provides:
"Summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
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