Opinion ID: 1976643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appeal of Dr. Weisband and ROPA 975 Philadelphia, 1987

Text: Dr. Weisband and ROPA assert that the trial court erred in not entering judgment n.o.v. in their favor because Ms. Corbett's claim was brought after the two-year statute of limitations had run. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Ms. Corbett responds that under the discovery rule, the limitations period does not begin to run until the date she learned of Dr. Weisband's injuries to her, and that this date is after September 13, 1981. Initially, we note that in reviewing the denial of a judgment n.o.v., this Court must examine the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the verdict winner. Carrecter v. Colson Equipment Co., 346 Pa.Super. 95, 499 A.2d 326 (1985). Judgment n.o.v. will not be entered unless the facts are such that two reasonable persons could not fail to agree that the verdict was improper. Dambacher by Dambacher v. Mallis, 336 Pa.Super. 22, 33, 485 A.2d 408, 414 (1984) (citations omitted). Where the statute of limitations is at issue, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff to demonstrate that the cause of action is not barred by the passage of time and that his or her failure to file the action in timely fashion is excusable. To reiterate, Ms. Corbett was under the care of Dr. Weisband and his associates at ROPA from December 18, 1978, until August 6, 1981. During that time she was hospitalized on numerous occasions, the two most important of which, for purposes of this law suit, are December 18 through 24, 1978, and October 27 through December 5, 1980. During the December 1978 hospitalization, she was treated for an infection in the knee. During the autumn 1980 hospitalization, Dr. Weisband attempted to fuse her knee. Ms. Corbett filed her action against Dr. Weisband and ROPA on September 13, 1983. She claims in her suit that Dr. Weisband: (1) failed to treat her osteomyelitis properly, (2) negligently performed an arthrodesis on her left knee, and (3) performed the arthrodesis on her left knee without her consent. As a result, she contends, Dr. Weisband inflicted an injury by prolonging and aggravating the infection in her left knee, thereby necessitating further surgical procedures on her knee, eventually leading to amputation. The symptoms of Ms. Corbett's injury inflicted by Dr. Weisband were primarily pain, and secondarily, limitation of motion in her knee. Under the doctrine known as the discovery rule, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the plaintiff has discovered his injury, or, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have discovered his injury. Groover v. Riddle Memorial Hospital, 357 Pa.Super. 420, 423, 516 A.2d 53, 55 (1986), quoting Cathcart v. Keene Indus. Insulation, 324 Pa.Super. 123, 135-36, 471 A.2d 493, 500 (1984). Our Supreme Court has held that [a]n injury is done when the act heralding a possible tort inflicts a damage which is physically objective and ascertainable. Groover, 357 Pa.Super. at 428, 516 A.2d at 57, quoting Ayers v. Morgan, 397 Pa. 282, 290, 154 A.2d 788, 792 (1959). Therefore, in cases such as these the jury must determine at what point a patient, using reasonable diligence, should have become aware that an injury had been inflicted upon her, and measure two years from then to determine whether a claim is time-barred. In medical malpractice actions, defendants have relied upon DeMartino v. Albert Einstein Medical Center, Northern Division, 313 Pa.Super. 492, 460 A.2d 295 (1983), and related cases in attacking plaintiffs' contentions that they should be excused from the statutory limitations period. DeMartino sets forth the standard against which a plaintiff's knowledge is measured: did the patient know, or should the patient through the exercise of reasonable diligence have known, of (1) her injury; (2) the operative cause of her injury; and, (3) the causal relationship between her injury and the operative conduct? [8] In the case at bar, the trial court submitted the issue to the jury in a special interrogatory, as follows: Is this suit by the plaintiff barred by the Statute of Limitations? The jury answered no. Further, [i]s any conduct of [Drs. Weisband and Mogil] before October 1980 barred by the Statute of Limitations? The jury answered no. Thus, the only question we must address is whether there is any evidence to support the jury's conclusion that Ms. Corbett, having exercised reasonable diligence, was justified in not discovering her injury until after September 13, 1981, which was less than two years before she brought her suit against Dr. Weisband.
It is central to the analysis under the discovery rule that an injury must be ascertainable. Groover, 357 Pa.Super. at 428, 516 A.2d at 57. In numerous visits to Dr. Weisband's office after the first procedure of which Ms. Corbett complains, treatment of the infection in December 1978, her condition was repeatedly assessed by Dr. Weisband as stable. [9] Further, on March 6, 1980, fifteen months after the first hospitalization, Dr. Weisband wrote a letter to Ms. Corbett's attorney diagnosing her condition as pyoarthritis and osteoarthritis, without mentioning osteomyelitis. Finally, when Ms. Corbett first consulted Dr. Greene, on September 8, 1981, he failed to detect the infection deep in her knee. [10] Therefore, there is ample evidence to support the jury's finding that Ms. Corbett was justified in not having discovered her injury, resulting from Dr. Weisband's failure to treat the osteomyelitis, prior to September 13, 1981.
The second procedure of which Ms. Corbett complains, the arthrodesis or attempted knee fusion, occurred on October 31, 1980. Appellants argue that Ms. Corbett should have brought her action within two years of the procedure, or at the very latest, within two years of when she first learned from Dr. Greene that the fusion performed by Dr. Weisband didn't take. Dr. Greene first examined her and spoke to her on September 8, 1981, so Dr. Weisband and ROPA contend that any action as to the arthrodesis is necessarily time-barred as of September 8, 1983, five days before her suit was filed. We address the latter contention first. Dr. Weisband and ROPA contend that Ms. Corbett's lack of consent claim should have been time-barred as of September 8, 1983 because, they allege, Dr. Greene told her on September 8, 1981 that a fusion had been performed by Dr. Weisband and that it had failed. Since such a statement would have put her on notice that an unauthorized procedure had been carried out, they argue, judgment n.o.v. should have been granted. We disagree, and hold that the testimony of record is such that two reasonable minds could differ as to whether Ms. Corbett understood that an unauthorized medical procedure had been performed on her. First, Dr. Greene's testimony is in conflict. He did not testify at trial. Rather, his videotape deposition was played for the jury and entered into the record on that basis. The deposition testimony which Dr. Weisband asserts shows that Ms. Corbett should have been put on notice that a fusion had been performed centered on a note which Dr. Greene recorded concerning Ms. Corbett's visit to him on September 8, 1981. In the course of the deposition Mr. Schell, who by this time was serving as counsel to Dr. Weisband and ROPA, asked Dr. Greene to read part of the note. The excerpt read by Dr. Greene indicated that a fusion had been performed in the past, and that it did not succeed. There is no indication of record that Ms. Corbett was given a copy of the note to read. However, Dr. Greene testified in the deposition that he told her that the fusion didn't take. T.T., December 10, 1985 at 157. Importantly, later in the deposition, Dr. Greene was asked by Mr. Finney whether he recalled telling Ms. Corbett on September 8th that the prior operation had been an attempted fusion of the knee. Dr. Greene answered, [n]o, I did not. There wouldn't have been any reason for me to say that to her. T.T., December 10, 1985 at 181. Thus, the two statements by Dr. Greene are in conflict. Considering the above ambiguous testimony regarding Dr. Greene's statements to Ms. Corbett on September 8, 1981, along with testimony by Ms. Corbett that she was not told of the procedure and the recognition by all parties that no signed consent form for the arthrodesis is in existence, we hold that the testimony of record could support the jury's finding that Ms. Corbett did not know, and through the exercise of reasonable diligence could not have known, until after September 13, 1981, that a procedure which she had not authorized had been performed on her. Since reasonable minds could differ on this issue, the trial judge properly denied the motion for judgment n.o.v. Next, we consider Dr. Weisband and ROPA's claim that Ms. Corbett knew or should have known within two years of October 31, 1980 that the arthrodesis had been negligently performed. In addressing this issue, it is important to place into perspective Ms. Corbett's condition, as perceived by her, when she initially came under Dr. Weisband's care in December 1978, and during the two years leading up to the procedure of October 31, 1980. To reiterate, she had experienced chronic knee problems since the 1930's. The problems were serious enough that she was using a cane prior to 1978. After Dr. DeMoura performed surgery on her knee in July 1978, she experienced pain in the knee, it did not heal, and it became infected. During the autumn of 1978 she was again hospitalized for her knee condition. She testified, I was in sort of like a daze because my leg was aggravating me so much until I didn't exactly know what was happening. T.T., December 2, 1985 at 19. She continued in therapy for several months because my leg had been bothering me so much and I couldn't work and do nothing. I couldn't get around like I wanted to get around. Id. at 20-21. Ms. Corbett testified that in early 1979, after the December 1978 procedure by Dr. Weisband, she had difficulty walking. Her leg was wrapped from her ankle to the middle of her thigh, and it hurt a lot. She wore a brace, and walked with the aid of crutches and a cane. Dr. Weisband saw her as an outpatient on many occasions in 1979 and 1980. He testified that on January 16, 1979 Ms. Corbett complained of pain due to a grinding sensation in her left knee. On February 13, 1979 she complained that her knee was giving out. The doctor observed that she was walking with a limp, or a guarded gait, and he prescribed a brace. On July 2, 1979 Ms. Corbett again complained of pain, although she was still using the brace. In Ms. Corbett's visit to the office on October 23, 1979 Dr. Weisband noted that the [l]eft knee is unstable in all planes, and that it continued to give out despite the use of a brace. T.T., December 11, 1985 at 60. Dr. Weisband testified that he believed in 1979 that a fusion could alleviate some of Ms. Corbett's pain. However, he told her such a procedure could not be done at this time because of medication she was taking to prevent blood clots. Instead, the doctor ordered a much larger knee brace, called a Lennox Hill brace, for her. T.T., December 11, 1985 at 61. In February 1980, Ms. Corbett complained of burning in her knee, despite the use of the Lennox Hill brace. On September 4, 1980, Ms. Corbett saw another ROPA associate, Dr. Mogil, and told him that she had severe pain in her knee and was unable to stand on it for more than three minutes. As of September 18, 1980, Ms. Corbett was no longer taking medication for blood thinner, so the ROPA doctors made preparations for her to be admitted to Metropolitan Hospital for an arthrodesis procedure. These preparations included the ordering of an expensive compression device for use in the arthrodesis procedure. The surgery was carried out on October 31, 1980. Given Ms. Corbett's lengthy prior history of discomfort, immobility and suffering involving her knee, we do not agree with Dr. Weisband and ROPA's contention that the jury was not justified in finding that Ms. Corbett could not have discovered prior to September 13, 1981 that the arthrodesis was negligently performed. To the contrary, the record indicates with startling clarity that Ms. Corbett's pain continued unabated throughout her treatment by Dr. Weisband and Dr. Greene. Therefore, the jury properly concluded that reasonable minds could differ on the issue of Ms. Corbett's knowledge of her injuries, i.e., Dr. Weisband's negligently performed arthrodesis, and the trial court properly denied the motion for judgment n.o.v. Where the appropriate standard of conduct required of a plaintiff for the protection of her interests is at issue, a determination thereof is properly left to the jury. Petri v. Smith, 307 Pa.Super. 261, 453 A.2d 342 (1982). In Petri, our Court held that the question of whether the causal relationship between the injuries sustained by plaintiff's son at childbirth and the delivering physician was knowable to the plaintiff prior to the running of the statute of limitations, was a jury question. Id. Accord, Taylor v. Tukanowicz, 290 Pa.Super. 581, 435 A.2d 181 (1981); Irrera v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 231 Pa.Super. 508, 331 A.2d 705 (1974). See also, Smith v. Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, 397 Pa. 134, 153 A.2d 477 (1959) (Whether statute of limitations has run on a claim is usually a question of law for the judge, but where the issue involves a factual determination, i.e., what is a reasonable period, the determination is for the jury). In conclusion, the trial court properly denied Dr. Weisband and ROPA's motion for judgment n.o.v. because the jury had adequate evidence on which to base its decision that Ms. Corbett was justified in not knowing, prior to September 13, 1981, of the injuries inflicted upon her by Dr. Weisband.

In addition to arguing that the trial court should have granted judgment n.o.v., Dr. Weisband and ROPA alternatively argue that they should be granted a new trial because of various alleged trial errors. First, they contend that the trial court erred in failing to preclude the expert testimony of Drs. Meinhard, Spicehandler, and Greene. We agree with the trial court that Drs. Spicehandler and Greene were properly permitted to testify. As the trial court noted, Dr. Spicehandler's report did not introduce any issues of which Dr. Weisband was not already aware. Trial court opinion at 32-33. We are unconvinced by Dr. Weisband's contention that he did not know until November 15, 1985, that he would have to prepare a defense in the area of infectious diseases. Moreover, we concur with the trial court that no prejudice arose from allowing Dr. Meinhard to interpret the X-ray films of Ms. Corbett. See trial court opinion at 33-34. With respect to Dr. Greene, he was identified in Plaintiff's Answers to Interrogatories.
Dr. Weisband and ROPA next contend that the trial court committed prejudicial error when it refused to grant a continuance, requested on November 22, 1985, which was sought because Mr. Gallo, one of Dr. Weisband's attorneys, had to appear in Federal Court. The trial court is vested with broad discretion in the determination of whether a request for a continuance should be granted, and an appellate court should not disturb such a decision unless an abuse of that discretion is apparent. Walasavage v. Marinelli, 334 Pa.Super. 396, 413, 483 A.2d 509, 518 (1984). We find no abuse of discretion. The case cited by Dr. Weisband and ROPA in support of their showing of prejudice, Westinghouse Elevator Co. v. Herron, 514 Pa. 252, 523 A.2d 723 (1987) [coincidentally, a case involving Mr. Schell, who was the attorney trying the instant case, in place of his partner, Mr. Gallo], contains many factors not present here. In that case, our Supreme Court found: the record supports the findings that Mr. Schell could not have adequately reviewed the record in so short a time, that Mr. Schell was not present at any proceedings in this case prior to Mr. Byrne's illness; that Mr. Schell had no prior familiarity with the case and no hand in forming trial strategy; and that contrary interests of the other defendants compounded Mr. Schell's difficulties. . . . Id., 514 Pa. at 260, 523 A.2d at 727-28. The record in the case at bar reveals that Mr. Schell had much greater familiarity with the instant matter, than he did in the Westinghouse case. As counsel to St. Joseph's Hospital and partner to Mr. Gallo, Mr. Schell had a familiarity with the case sufficient to justify the trial court's decision not to grant the continuance. Moreover, Dr. Weisband and ROPA have not demonstrated that they were prejudiced in any way by Mr. Schell's representation. Therefore, we will not disturb the trial court's decision not to grant the continuance.
Dr. Weisband and ROPA next argue that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering these cases consolidated for trial. The decision to consolidate actions rests within the discretion of the trial court. In a proper case the court should consolidate separate actions to avoid multiplicity of trials or hearings and to reduce the expense to the parties. Lohmiller v. Weidenbaugh, 302 Pa.Super. 174, 182, 448 A.2d 583, 587 (1982) (citations omitted); Pa.R.C.P. 213. Having reviewed the record, we find no abuse of discretion by the trial court.
The next allegation of error set forth by Dr. Weisband and ROPA is that the trial court erred in failing to charge the jury on Ms. Corbett's possible contributory negligence in leaving the hospital in December 1978. Counsel for defendants requested this point for charge at sidebar during the court's charge to the jury. The basis of the request was Dr. Weisband's claim that Ms. Corbett discharged herself from the hospital. The uncontradicted testimony of record is that Ms. Corbett was discharged by her physicians. Therefore, the trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury on this point.
The next assignment of error is that the trial court failed to submit the defendant's proposed special interrogatories to the jury. We have reviewed the proposed special interrogatories of Dr. Weisband and ROPA, as well as those submitted by the trial court. Under the standard elucidated in Willinger v. Mercy Catholic Medical Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 482 Pa. 441, 393 A.2d 1188 (1978), we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting the proposed special interrogatories of Dr. Weisband and ROPA.
Dr. Weisband and ROPA finally contend that even if the trial court was correct in not entering judgment n.o.v. and they are not entitled to a new trial, the court erred in awarding delay damages without considering the criteria set forth in Craig v. Magee Memorial Rehabilitation Center, 512 Pa. 60, 515 A.2d 1350 (1986). In Craig, our Supreme Court recognized that defendants could be unfairly penalized under Rule 238 for delays caused by plaintiffs. The Court suspended Rule 238 and held that claims for delay damages are to be presented by petition within five days of a jury verdict, with the respondent's answer due five days thereafter. At that point the trial court may hold a hearing to resolve any factual disputes. The Court enumerated factors which the trial court was to consider. Craig was decided on October 8, 1986, and was given prospective effect only: Those parties whose cases are now in the appellate or post-trial process, who have not asserted attacks on the Rule 238 aspect of the damage award, may not now assert such challenges. However, in those cases where the issue has been preserved, the court before whom the case resides on or after this date is to resolve the issue in a manner consistent with this opinion. Id., 512 Pa. at 66, 515 A.2d at 1353 (emphasis added). In the case at bar, the jury rendered its verdict on liability on December 18, 1985, and determined the amount of damages the following day. Immediately thereupon, counsel for Ms. Corbett made an oral motion for pre-verdict interest from September 18, 1983, to December 19, 1985. Counsel for Dr. Weisband made no objection at that time. The trial court granted the motion and instructed both counsel to calculate the damages. We have reviewed appellants' post-trial motions as well as their arguments before Judge Wright, and we do not find any timely objection to the Rule 238 damages as required by Craig. Therefore, we hold that Dr. Weisband and ROPA have waived the issue relating to the Craig factors.