Opinion ID: 1199771
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Issue Four Statute of Limitations

Text: The Hospital claims Keri Adcox's claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations, RCW 4.16.350. [8] This statute provides, in relevant part, that an action against a hospital for medical negligence: shall be commenced within three years of the act or omission alleged to have caused the injury or condition, or one year of the time the patient or his representative discovered or reasonably should have discovered that the injury or condition was caused by [the] act or omission, whichever period expires later.... RCW 4.16.350 thus provides two alternative limitation periods. Actions must be commenced either within a standard 3-year limitation period or under an alternative 1-year discovery rule. Adcox did not file her cause of action within 3 years of Brandan's cardiac arrest: Brandan's cardiac arrest occurred on July 17, 1984, and Keri Adcox filed suit on March 1, 1988. Accordingly, the only issue before us is whether Adcox satisfied the requirements of RCW 4.16.350's 1-year discovery rule. [18, 19] Discovery rules such as RCW 4.16.350's require a claimant to use due diligence in discovering the basis for the cause of action. Allen v. State, 118 Wn.2d 753, 758, 826 P.2d 200 (1992) (citing Reichelt v. Johns-Manville Corp., 107 Wn.2d 761, 772, 733 P.2d 530 (1987)). The question of when a patient or representative reasonably should have discovered the injury was caused by medical negligence is normally an issue of fact. Honcoop v. State, 111 Wn.2d 182, 194, 759 P.2d 1188 (1988); Ohler v. Tacoma Gen. Hosp., 92 Wn.2d 507, 510, 598 P.2d 1358 (1979). The key consideration under the discovery rule is the factual, as opposed to the legal, basis of the cause of action. Allen, 118 Wn.2d at 758. [20] The jury specifically found Adcox filed her action within 1 year of when she reasonably should have discovered the factual basis of her cause of action. In reviewing this finding, [9] as with any other jury verdict, we must determine whether it is supported by sufficient evidence. See Industrial Indem. Co. of Northwest, Inc. v. Kallevig, 114 Wn.2d 907, 916, 792 P.2d 520, 7 A.L.R.5th 1014 (1990). In this case, Adcox testified she initially asked the doctors why Brandan had suffered cardiac arrest and was told the arrest was caused by Brandan's heart condition. For this reason, she did not learn of the role the Hospital and nurses played in Brandan's cardiac arrest until several years later. She consulted an attorney on a friend's advice in October 1987. After the attorney investigated the matter, she became aware of the facts that established her cause of action. Adcox's lawsuit was filed in March 1988. The Hospital did not present any evidence to dispute this. The jury could rationally conclude from the record before it that Adcox acted with due diligence. We affirm the jury's factual determination and conclude Keri Adcox's cause of action was timely filed under RCW 4.16.350.