 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Tezak v. Bachke6/21/2005
Appellants, who are liable for a decedent's special damages arising out of an automobile accident, challenge the district court's summary judgment determination that respondent may recover, as special damages under Minn. Stat. § 573.02, subd. 2, the full amount of decedent's reasonable medical expenses related to the accident rather than the amount for which the decedent's health insurer settled the medical providers' claims for those expenses.
FACTS
The parties submitted this matter to the district court based on stipulated facts. Respondent is trustee for the heirs and next-of-kin of Martin Tezak. Tezak was injured when the automobile he was driving was struck by an automobile driven by appellant Jill Bachke. Appellant Bruce Bachke is the owner of the vehicle driven by Jill Bachke and he consented to Jill Bachke's use of the vehicle. Tezak was not negligent. The collision was caused, at least in part, by Jill Bachke's negligence. Tezak incurred medical expenses in excess of $100,000 related to the accident. Tezak initiated a lawsuit against appellants but died of causes unrelated to the accident before that lawsuit was completed, and the lawsuit was dismissed. Tezak's health insurer settled all claims for medical expenses related to the accident for $32,000.
Respondent, as trustee for the heirs and next-of-kin of Tezak, purchased the health insurer's subrogation rights and initiated this action against appellants under Minn. Stat. § 573.02, subd. 2 (2004), for special damages, including the full amount of medical expenses billed to Tezak by medical providers. Appellants sought to limit respondent's claim for medical expenses to the $32,000 amount for which the medical bills were settled by Tezak's health insurer.
The district court determined that respondent may claim the full amount of expenses billed. Judgment was entered consistent with the parties' stipulation, in which respondent agreed to limit her claim to $100,000, and this appeal followed.
ISSUE
May the trustee for the heirs and next-of-kin of a person who is injured in an automobile accident and who dies of causes unrelated to the accident, after acquiring the subrogation rights of the decedent's health insurer, pursue a claim for the full amount of medical expenses incurred by the decedent as a result of the accident?
ANALYSIS
When a district court grants summary judgment based on the application of a statute to undisputed facts, the district court's decision is purely a legal conclusion reviewed de novo. Lefto v. Hoggsbreath Enters., Inc., 581 N.W.2d 855, 856 (Minn. 1998). The issue presented in this case is one of first impression in Minnesota.
Minn. Stat. § 573.02, subd. 2 (2004) provides:
When injury is caused to a person by the wrongful act or omission of any person . . . and the person thereafter dies from a cause unrelated to those injuries, the trustee . . . may maintain an action for special damages arising out of such injury if the decedent might have maintained an action therefore had the decedent lived.
"'Special damages' are those damages to which an exact dollar amount can be assigned, such as medical expenses or lost wages to date of death." Deal v. Northwood Children's Home Soc'y., 608 N.W.2d 922, 925 n.1 (Minn. App. 2000), review denied (Minn. June 13, 2000).
Appellants rely on general principles governing compensatory damages to argue that respondent's claim should be limited to damages for which a person has actual losses. See, e.g., Phelps v. Commonwealth Land Title Ins. Co., 537 N.W.2d 271, 275 (Minn. 1995) (noting that compensatory damages are generally syno
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minnesota Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|