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Zenzen v. Eiser1/18/2005
Appellant trustee challenges the district court's grant of summary judgment to respondent on the ground that this medical malpractice action was barred by the statute of limitations. Appellant argues that (1) decedent's treatment did not terminate until after the continuing course of treatment for decedent's prostate condition was completed; and (2) appellant's cause of action did not accrue until decedent had sustained legal damages as a result of respondents' negligence, which occurred when decedent's prognosis of survival fell below 50%. We affirm.
DECISION
"A motion for summary judgment shall be granted when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that either party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fabio v. Bellomo, 504 N.W.2d 758, 761 (Minn. 1993) (citation omitted). On appeal, if the underlying facts on which summary judgment is granted are undisputed, this court conducts a de novo review to determine the accrual of the cause of action and the running of the statute of limitations. Broek v. Park Nicollet Health Servs., 660 N.W.2d 439, 441 (Minn. App. 2003) (citing Weeks v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 580 N.W.2d 24, 26 (Minn. 1998)).
Minnesota's wrongful death statute of limitations provides, in relevant part, that " n action to recover damages for a death caused by the alleged professional negligence of a physician . . . shall be commenced within three years of the date of death, but in no event shall be commenced beyond the time set forth in section 541.076." Minn. Stat. § 573.02, subd. 1 (Supp. 2003). Section 541.076 is the medical malpractice statute of limitations, and it provides that "an action by a . . . former patient against a health care provider alleging malpractice . . . must be commenced within four years from the date the cause of action accrued." Minn. Stat. § 541.076(b) (2002).
Accordingly, wrongful death claims in Minnesota must be brought within three years of the date of death, but can never be brought more than four years from the date that the medical malpractice cause of action accrued. See Murphy v. Allina Health Sys., 668 N.W.2d 17, 21-22 (Minn. App. 2003) (noting that some wrongful death actions may be barred under the statute even if they are brought on the date of death), review denied (Minn. Nov. 18, 2003). It follows then, that the statute of limitations for a wrongful death action based on medical malpractice begins running at the same time as the decedent's medical malpractice claim. Broek, 660 N.W.2d at 441 (citing DeRogatis v. Mayo Clinic, 390 N.W.2d 773, 776 (Minn. 1986)). And, for the purposes of this analysis, the date that the decedent's medical malpractice claim accrued is also the date on which appellant's wrongful death action accrued.
I.
It is well-settled in Minnesota that a cause of action for medical malpractice "will not accrue until the plaintiff ceases treatment with the defendant physician." Molloy v. Meier, 679 N.W.2d 711, 721 (Minn. 2004) (citing Grondahl v. Bulluck, 318 N.W.2d 240, 243 (Minn. 1982)). This is known as the "termination of treatment rule." Id. "This rule is intended to extend the statute of limitations by assuming that the negligent conduct of the physician occurred on the last day of treatment unless the plaintiff's injury was caused by a discrete, identifiable act." Molloy, 679 N.W.2d at 721.
We reject appellant's claim that the decedent's treatment here did not terminate until his final check-up regarding his prostate surgery. The decedent's prostate problems were not related to his death. And the de
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