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HEINE v. ALLEN MEMORIAL HOSP. CORP.6/19/1996
In this case the district court determined Iowa Code section 147.136 (1993) applies to the plaintiff's contribution claim against a physician and his employer. On appeal we reverse and remand
I. Background.
The following uncontroverted facts are contained in the pleadings. Howard Heine fell down steps at his residence on February 28, 1993. As a consequence, he was seen and treated at the Allen Memorial Hospital emergency room. Heine complained of pain in the back and upper shoulders and tenderness from the neck to the mid-thoracic spine. At that time x-rays were taken and interpreted by Dr. Driss Cammoun, an employee of Radiological Associates, P.C. (Associates). Heine was diagnosed as having multiple contusions, secondary to the fall
On June 29, 1993, Heine was involved in an automobile collision with Melva Wedemeier. He sustained neck injuries as a consequence of the collision. Heine brought an action against Wedemeier for damages arising out of the automobile collision Wedemeier confessed judgment in favor of Heine in the amount of $100,000 and the confession of judgment was accepted by Heine
The procedural facts that gave rise to this appeal are as follows. After Heine's acceptance of Wedemeier's confession of judgment, Heine filed on February 13, 1995 an action against the Allen Memorial Hospital Corporation and other health care providers who had provided services to him for injuries he received as a result of his fall on February 28, 1993. The petition alleges he received a fractured neck as a result of the fall, that the x-rays disclosed this fact, and that the health care providers were negligent in their medical evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of his injuries from the fall
Wedemeier filed her petition for contribution on February 18, 1995. She alleged the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by Heine in the automobile collision were greatly aggravated because Cammoun and Associates did not properly identify, diagnose, and treat the neck fracture Heine sustained from the fall. She alleges the negligence of Cammoun in failing to identify the neck fracture contributed to the damages that she was ultimately compelled to pay Heine. In answer to the petition, the defendants raised as an affirmative defense that Iowa Code section 147.136 limits or bars Wedemeier's claim for contribution. The [549 NW2d Page 823]
court consolidated the Heine and Wedemeier cases on Cammoun's motion
Wedemeier filed a motion to adjudicate law points, see Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 105, asking the court to adjudicate and determine that section 147.136 does not apply to her claim for contribution. She stated the judgment against her in favor of Heine was paid by her insurance carrier, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company. In response, the defendants asked the court to adjudicate that the statute bars the claim for contribution or, in the alternative, bars her from seeking contribution for any medical expenses and economic damages she paid to Heine which had been paid by a collateral source
In its ruling on the motion to adjudicate law points the court concluded Wedemeier's contribution claim is barred by section 147.136. After considering the legislative intent of the statute, the court reasoned that "the section covers both an underlying malpractice action as well as a contribution claim."
II. Rule 105 Motion.
The court may "hear and determine any point of law raised in any pleading which goes to the whole or any material part of the case." Iowa R. Civ. P. 105. We have interpreted the rule to allow an adjudication if either there are no material facts in dispute or if the court is prese
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