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Conway v. Sonntag2/7/2005
2005 Opinion No. 16
The judgment of the district court is vacated and this case is remanded.
This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a claim for medical malpractice on the ground that the action was barred by the statute of limitations. We hold that under the facts in the record, the statute of limitations had not expired.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On October 5, 1999, the defendant-respondent John R. Sonntag, M.D., (Dr. Sonntag) performed cataract surgery upon the plaintiff-appellant Lynda Conway. During the procedure, he punctured the posterior portion of the lens capsule of her left eye. As a result, she suffered increased intraocular pressure in that eye, for which he treated her with medication until February 21, 2000. That treatment was not successful, and she lost the sight in her eye when the increased pressure ultimately destroyed the optic nerve.
On November 8, 2001, the Conways requested a prelitigation screening panel pursuant to Idaho Code § 6-1001. The panel issued its decision on March 20, 2002, and on the same day the Conways filed their complaint commencing this action. In count one of their complaint, the Conways alleged that Dr. Sonntag negligently punctured the lens capsule during the surgery. In count two they alleged that his post-operative treatment was negligent.
Upon Dr. Sonntag's motion for judgment on the pleadings, the district court dismissed count one on the ground that the facts alleged showed that it was barred by the two-year statute of limitations in Idaho Code § 5-219(4). Although the filing of the request for a prelitigation screening panel on November 8, 2001, would toll the running of the statute of limitations, I.C. § 6-1005, the statute had already run with respect to negligence allegedly occurring on October 5, 1999.
Dr. Sonntag then moved for summary judgment on count two, contending that it too was barred by the statute of limitations. The district court granted the motion on the ground that the diminished vision and ultimate blindness in Lynda Conway's left eye were consequences of the initial damage she suffered during the cataract surgery and that such damage was objectively ascertainable as of October 14 and 18, 1999, when it was confirmed that she had diminished vision in her left eye.
The Conways filed a motion for reconsideration, submitting a second affidavit of their expert witness. Dr. Sonntag countered with his affidavit. The district court denied the motion for reconsideration, and the Conways timely appealed.
III. ANALYSIS
In an appeal from an order of summary judgment, this Court's standard of review is the same as the standard used by the trial court in ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Infanger v. City of Salmon, 137 Idaho 45, 44 P.3d 1100 (2002). All disputed facts are to be construed liberally in favor of the non-moving party, and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the record are to be drawn in favor of the non-moving party. Id. Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Id. If the evidence reveals no disputed issues of material fact, then only a question of law remains, over which this Court exercises free review. Id.
The facts are undisputed that the puncturing of the lens capsule during the surgery on October 5, 1999, caused the increased intraocular pressure, and that the continuation of the increased pressure destroyed the optic nerve. The Conways' expert witn
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