Opinion ID: 2283405
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: After Dr. Robert Gaines performed surgery on Gerald Kivland's spine in January 2005, Kivland allegedly was paralyzed from the waist down and suffered continuous and extreme pain in the paralyzed region. He sued Dr. Gaines and his employer, Columbia Orthopaedic Group LLP (collectively Dr. Gaines) in July 2005 for medical negligence, seeking damages for injury, disability and suffering; his wife, Jana Kivland, sued for damages for loss of consortium. Because the case comes before this Court before there has been a trial, it is important to note that the statements about the surgery and its aftermath are allegations and medical opinionsthe facts are yet to be proved. Eight months after filing the medical negligence suit, Gerald Kivland committed suicide. After Gerald Kivland's death, the medical negligence action was amended by adding a claim for wrongful death on behalf of his widow and his daughter, Kristin Bold (collectively the Kivlands). The lawsuit, as amended after Gerald Kivland's death, in effect has two separate claims: (1) A claim under the wrongful death statute that Gerald Kivland's death was a direct result of Dr. Gaines' negligence. If this wrongful death claim is viable, Gerald Kivland's claim for damages for his injury, disability and suffering that he possessed at the time of his death are merged into the wrongful death claim as well as his wife's claim for loss of consortium. Kivland's widow and daughter are proper claimants under the wrongful death statute. [1] Section 537.080, RSMo 2000. [2] (2) Dr. Gaines' negligence caused Gerald Kivland's injury, disability and painbut was not a cause of his death. If there is no viable claim that Dr. Gaines' negligence caused Gerald Kivland's death, this survivor claim is one that Kivland had at the time of his death that passed to his estate. [3] Section 537.020. Recovery on this claim properly is pursued by Jana Kivland, as representative of the estate. Section 537.021. She also would remain a plaintiff for loss of consortium incurred prior to her husband's death. [4] Dr. Gaines first moved to strike the Kivlands' expert witness, whose opinion was that Gerald Kivland's death was a direct result of the pain from surgery. The circuit court granted the motion to strike the expert witness. The circuit court then granted Dr. Gaines' motion for partial summary judgment on the wrongful death claim. The partial summary judgment was designated as final for purposes of appeal under Rule 74.01(b). The order granting summary judgment on the wrongful death claim disposes of a distinct claim for reliefthe Kivlands' separate claim for wrongful death described in paragraph (1) aboveand, on the circuit court's certification, it was final for purposes of appeal. Rule 74.01(b). The survivor claim on behalf of Gerald Kivland's estate, described in paragraph (2) above, remains pending in the circuit court. The question presented in this appeal is whether suicide is an intervening cause of Kivland's death, unrelated to Dr. Gaines' alleged negligence as a matter of law, rendering irrelevant any expert testimony that the death was caused by post-surgical pain.