Opinion ID: 2101537
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure To Detect Pregnancy

Text: Count IV of the complaint also alleges the negligent failure to timely detect the pregnancy of Cowe's mother, thereby resulting in a failure of proper prenatal care and consequential physical injury to Cowe in utero. He argues that Forum failed to demonstrate the absence of genuine issues of material fact and that the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment as to the issue of prenatal tort. Forum argues that it had no duty to diagnose the pregnancy or to detect Cowe's fetal existence, and that any injuries resulting from omitted or negligent prenatal care fail to satisfy the proximate cause requirement because Forum could not have foreseen that Melanie would be raped, that she would conceive, that the fetus would go undetected following conception, that a viable child would be born, and that he would develop a resulting injury. The tort of negligence is comprised of three elements: 1) a duty on the part of the defendant in relation to the plaintiff; 2) a breach of that duty, i.e., failure on the part of the defendant to conform his conduct to the requisite standard of care required by the relationship; and 3) an injury to the plaintiff proximately resulting from that failure. Douglass v. Irvin (1990), Ind., 549 N.E.2d 368, 369; Miller v. Griesel (1974), 261 Ind. 604, 308 N.E.2d 701. The arguments of Forum challenge the elements of duty and proximately caused injury. The question of whether a duty to exercise care arises is governed by the relationship between the parties and is an issue of law within the province of the court. Douglass, 549 N.E.2d 368; Gariup Constr. Co., Inc. v. Foster (1988), Ind., 519 N.E.2d 1224; Neal v. Home Builders, Inc. (1953), 232 Ind. 160, 111 N.E.2d 280. Clearly Forum owed a duty to Melanie Meredith, a total care resident patient in its nursing home, as an invitee. This duty was to exercise reasonable care for her protection. Burrell v. Meads (1991), Ind., 569 N.E.2d 637; Hammond v. Allegretti (1974), 262 Ind. 82, 311 N.E.2d 821. In addition, because the nursing home was aware of the disabilities and infirmities which rendered her unable to care for herself, Forum had a duty analogous to that of a common carrier to provide protection and care. Stropes v. Heritage House Childrens Center (1989), Ind., 547 N.E.2d 244. The extraordinary standard of care thus imposed, id. at 254, would require a greater degree of attention and care for a disabled resident than the usual standard of reasonable care. See Heger v. Trustees of Indiana Univ. (1988), Ind. App., 526 N.E.2d 1041, 1043 n. 4. Because Count IV of the complaint presents the claims of Jacob Cowe, not Melanie Meredith, Forum contends that there is no basis to find any duty of care or protection to an unborn fetus of which it was unaware. Noting the nebulous nature of the concept of duty and that fact that no universal test for it ever has been formulated, this Court recently observed: No better general statement can be made than that the courts will find a duty where, in general, reasonable persons would recognize it and agree that it exists. Gariup, 519 N.E.2d at 1227 (quoting W. Prosser & W. Keeton, supra, § 53, at 359 (5th ed. 1984)). Prior to 1946, nearly all the decisions from various jurisdictions denied recovery to children born in an injured condition as a result of injuries to the mother. See generally W. Prosser & W. Keeton, supra, § 55, at 367 (5th ed. 1984). Since then, however, there has been a rather spectacular reversal of the no-duty rule. Id. at 368. The child, if he is born alive, is now permitted in every jurisdiction to maintain an action for the consequences of prenatal injuries, ... . Id. Observing that there appears no American jurisdiction with a decision still standing refusing recovery, according to its accompanying comments, [3] the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 869 (1979), provides: (1) One who tortuously causes harm to an unborn child is subject to liability to the child for the harm if the child is born alive. (2) If the child is not born alive, there is no liability unless the applicable wrongful death statute so provides. Under the facts alleged in the present case, given the extreme dependence of Melanie Meredith upon Forum for her protection and care, and the great degree of control available to Forum in the discharge of its obligations, we have no hesitation in declaring that Forum's duty to Melanie also extended to her unborn child. A breach of such duty proximately resulting in injury to the child would support a cause of action on behalf of the child, Jacob Cowe. Forum's argument that its alleged negligence was not the proximate cause of Cowe's alleged injury is expressly predicated on its claim that it could not have foreseen that Melanie Meredith would be raped and become pregnant. This argument fails because the claim of failure to detect the pregnancy and enable prenatal care does not encompass Forum's conduct with respect to its alleged failure to protect Melanie Meredith from rape. It is only Forum's acts and omissions following the inception of Melanie's pregnancy which are involved in this prenatal tort claim. For this claim, proximate cause is required to link Cowe's injuries only with the charged negligent failure to detect, not the failure to protect. With respect to Cowe's allegation of injury from negligent prenatal care, Forum does not argue or identify any evidence in the record which negates such claim, which burden Forum must carry as the party seeking summary judgment, as discussed above. Kahf, 461 N.E.2d 723; Tanasijevich's Estate, 383 N.E.2d 1081. Therefore, because the facts asserted by Cowe present a cause of action for negligence, and because Forum has failed to show that there are undisputed facts as to any determinative issue, we find that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to Cowe's prenatal tort claim. Transfer is granted. Except as otherwise summarily affirmed, the opinion of the Court of Appeals is vacated. With respect to the plaintiff Jacob Cowe's Count IV claim for damages resulting from the alleged negligent failure to prevent the rape, summary judgment in favor of defendant Forum Group, Inc., is affirmed. As to plaintiff's Count IV claim for damages resulting from a failure to timely detect the pregnancy and enable prenatal care, summary judgment is reversed. This cause is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. SHEPARD, C.J., and DeBRULER, GIVAN and KRAHULIK, JJ., concur.