Opinion ID: 852503
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of Occurrence Statute

Text: Three of the Brinkmans' four claims concern an alleged failure to diagnose and treat either preeclampsia or eclampsia. The fourth claim concerns the post-partum counseling the Brinkmans received on March 10, 1995. Although Mrs. Brinkman was correctly diagnosed with and treated for eclampsia upon her January 30, 1995, admission to the hospital, she did not file a complaint until December 2000. Because the alleged malpractice occurred in 1995, the complaint obviously fell outside the two-year statutory period. Likening their case to the plaintiffs in Martin and Van Dusen, the Brinkmans argue that the statute is unconstitutional as applied to them. (Appellants' Br. at 19, 23-27.) Unlike the plaintiffs in Martin and Van Dusen, however, Mrs. Brinkman did not suffer from a disease or medical condition with a long latency period. When a physician fails to diagnose cancer, the patient may continue without symptoms for years. It is impossible for these patients to claim failure to diagnose cancer before they know they are suffering from the disease. The Brinkmans did not face this challenge. Instead, Mrs. Brinkman suffered eclamptic seizures on January 30, 1995, and was immediately diagnosed with and treated for eclampsia. [7] All of these events occurred in 1995, and nothing prevented the Brinkmans from bringing a claim about faulty diagnosis or treatment within the two-year statutory period. The statute of limitations on the Brinkmans' failure to diagnose and treat claims thus began to run in 1995 and expired in 1997. The trial court was correct to grant summary judgment to defendants on these claims. The Brinkmans similarly argue that they did not have sufficient facts to support their negligent counseling claim until 2000, when Dr. Zimmer contradicted some of the advice given to them at the 1995 post-partum exam. This argument lacks merit. A plaintiff does not need to be told malpractice occurred to trigger the statute of limitations. Van Dusen, 712 N.E.2d at 499. The Brinkmans were equipped with a correct diagnosis in 1995, and the alleged negligent counseling occurred in 1995. Nothing prevented the Brinkmans from seeking further medical or legal advice. Thus, the two-year statute of limitations also bars this claim.