 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Mullins v. Parkview Hospital6/30/2005
' App. p. 55. It is apparent to us that the Mullinses intended their denial of this Request to rest on the fact that VanHoey performed the intubation at all. According to the Mullinses, as soon as VanHoey attempted to intubate Ruth, she breached a duty of care owed to Ruth because Ruth never consented to her presence in the first place. To deem this Request admitted based on a sufficient denial coupled with a sufficient answer to an interrogatory is to engage in word games, which we shall not do. We conclude, therefore, that the trial court erred in deeming this Request admitted.
Request for Admission Number 14 reads as follows:
REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 14: When Larea VanHoey left the operatory in which W. Ruth Mullins was a patient on December 4, 2000, no physician or other health care provider made any comment or accusation that Larea VanHoey had perforated the esophagus of W. Ruth Mullins.
RESPONSE: Denied. Ruth Mullins was unconscious. The physicians did tell that as fact to Ruth Mullins and her family.
Appellants' App. p. 52. After further questioning from St. Francis and VanHoey, the Mullinses provided the following answer to Interrogatory Number 8:
INTERROGATORY NO. 8: State in specific detail all facts relied upon by Plaintiffs to support the denial of Request for Admission Number 14 previously served on Plaintiffs.
ANSWER: The only information on this subject that plaintiffs has is from the deposition testimony of Drs. Eastlund and Carboneau, Colin White and Larea VanHoey. Ruth Mullins was unconscious during the procedure and her husband was not present in the surgical suite. However, physicians later did tell that information to the plaintiffs.
Appellants' App. p. 56. The Mullinses could not be any plainer in their denial of this Request: Ruth was unconscious following her surgery, and there is, therefore, no way for her to know what statements the doctors did or did not make at that time regarding VanHoey's performance. To deem this Request admitted is to engage in senseless hair-splitting, which we shall not do. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court erred in deeming this Request admitted.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we find as follows: (1) the Mullinses adequately stated a claim for battery against VanHoey, Dr. Eastlund, Fort Wayne OB/GYN Consultants, Dr. Carboneau, and Preferred Anesthesia Consultants; (2) the trial court properly granted summary judgment on the Mullinses' negligence claim in favor of Parkview; (3) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the Mullinses' negligence claim in favor of Dr. Carboneau, Preferred Anesthesia Consultants, Dr. Eastlund, and Fort Wayne OB/GYN Consultants; (4) the trial court properly required the Mullinses to prove that the complained-of breach was the proximate cause of their damages; (5) the trial court properly deemed admitted Request for Admission Number 5; and (6) the trial court improperly deemed admitted Requests for Admission Numbers 9 and 14.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
KIRSCH, C.J., and BARNES, J., concur.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|