Court Opinion

ID: 9728060
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 13:56:58.001072+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:45.484419
License: Public Domain

Currie, C. J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent from the holding of the majority that the instant medical examiner’s report constituted a certificate of health or a declaration of fitness within the meaning of sec. 209.07, Stats.
Most medical reports of life insurance companies consist of two parts, the first of which consists of questions which the medical examiner puts to the applicant and is signed by the applicant; the second consists of the questions asked of, and answered by, the medical examiner based on his examination of applicant. Typical of these latter types of questions are the subdivisions of question 16 quoted in the majority opinion. The court’s opinion comes perilously close to holding that all of these medical examiner reports in which the physician certifies to the findings made by him of his physical examination of the applicant constitute a certificate of health or declaration of fitness. I cannot conceive how questions asked of the medical examiner, that merely require his statement of his findings made upon examination of applicant, constitute a certificate of health or declaration of fitness within the meaning of sec. 209.07, Stats. The only question in Part II of the instant medical examiner’s report which varies from this pattern is question 20 which inquires of the medical examiner as to his opinion regarding “habits, surroundings, or occupation of the proposed insured.” The opinion requested does not relate to the general fitness of the applicant so as to constitute a certificate of health. Rather, it is restricted to the habits, surroundings, or occupation of the applicant. *12I can perceive of no significant difference between the form in which question 20 is worded and a question which merely asks, “Have you any information with respect to anything detrimental in the habits, surroundings, or occupation of the proposed Insured ?”
It seems to me that the test to be applied as to whether a medical examiner’s report comes within the provisions of sec. 209.07, Stats., is: Do the statements of the medical examiner in his report go beyond merely stating his objective findings, so as to express an opinion as to general health or fitness for insurance? The mere fact that one statement may express an opinion with respect to one element of the whole, such as does question 20, should be held to be insufficient to constitute an expression of opinion as to the total health or fitness of the applicant for insurance.
The writer is the only present member of the court who participated in the decision of Ludwig v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. (1956), 271 Wis. 549, 74 N. W. (2d) 201. In concurring in that sentence of the opinion which reads (at p. 554), “The record indicates that the insured was examined by a medical examiner of the defendant on July 24, 1953, and that the examiner in effect declared the applicant a fit subject for insurance,” I must confess I was remiss in not going back and again reviewing the briefs when I joined in the opinion. However, an examination of the briefs affords a partial excuse for this failure on my part.
The appellant insurance company’s brief stated four questions involved on appeal, none of which referred to sec. 209.07, Stats., or raised any issue with respect thereto. The respondent’s brief did make the assertion that the medical report constituted a declaration of fitness and estopped appellant from contesting the policy. Then appellant came back with a reply brief which took the position that secs. 209.06 and 209.07 were entirely beside the point on the issues of coverage raised by appellant based on events which occurred *13after the medical examiner’s report. Appellant did not challenge respondent’s assertion that the medical examiner’s report constituted a declaration of fitness.
Thus because of the position taken by the insurance company in the Ludwig Case we had no contest of the issue whether the medical examiner’s report constituted a declaration of fitness within the meaning of sec. 209.07, Stats. Therefore, I do not consider that the Ludwig Case is one that this court should consider controls the result here. Perhaps it is poetic justice that this particular insurance company should now be impaled by the Ludwig Case decision, but I feel the precedent we are setting for future cases by the instant decision is a bad one.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Justice Hallows joins in this dissenting opinion.