Court Opinion

ID: 9563282
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:38:19.923051+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:47.556555
License: Public Domain

TRAYNOR, J.
I concur in the judgment. When plaintiff’s action against Wubben was tried, she was still under the medical care of the defendants. On the trial of the action one of the defendants testified with regard to the nature of the in*661jury suffered by plaintiff, the progress of her recuperation until the date of trial, and her prospects for recovery. He stated that plaintiff’s right leg had improved enough so that she could put weight on it, but that the fracture of the left leg had not healed as well, because the ends of the bone were not end to end, and that it might be another month or two before there was á callous formation. Unless the hardening took place within that time it would be necessary to use surgery to fasten the ends of the bone with a metal plate and screws. As to the probability of plaintiff’s future ability to walk he said: “In any event, she probably will not be able to walk at all normally with these legs in less than a year’s time, from the time of the accident. At that time she may be left with some impairment to her walking. ’ ’ Plaintiff contends that the defendants were negligent, on the grounds that they failed to secure the bones in proper position before making the cast, and failed to reset the bones properly after discovering the improper alignment through X-rays. She claims that as a result of this negligence she is not able to walk for more than short distances. The $15,000 judgment, insofar as it took into account plaintiff’s impaired physical condition, was based on the expert testimony of one of the defendants; therefore neither defendants’ possible negligence nor its possible consequences beyond the complications of the healing process described in the testimony had any influence on the judgment. There is nothing in the record to indicate that plaintiff had any information as to the alleged malpractice when she entered into the agreement with Wubben after the judgment. For the purposes of this appeal it must therefore be assumed that at the time of the trial of her action against Wubben and of her agreement with him, plaintiff was ignorant of any negligence of the defendants and acted on the advice received from the defendants as her physicians.
If the improper alignment of the bones in the left leg was a consequence of defendants’ negligence, it was also a consequence of the- accident which the jury could properly consider in reaching its verdict, since defendants’ testimony revealed plaintiff’s aggravated condition. Other consequences of defendants’ alleged negligence, however, such as the alleged failure to reset the bones properly, were not considered on thq/trial, and the $15,000 judgment therefore does not fully reflect the injury allegedly caused by negligence of the defendants...
*662Any injury caused by malpractice of defendants that was not disclosed by the expert testimony at the trial and that was therefore not reflected in the judgment can be recovered in this action, although the judgment rendered in plaintiff’s action against Wubben is res judicata insofar as it was based on the same facts as in the present action. (Bernhard v. Bank of America, 19 Cal.2d 807, 812, [122 P.2d 892]; Good Health etc. Corp. v. Emery, 275 N.Y. 14 [9 N.E.2d 758, 112 A.L.R. 401].) Defendants cannot rely on the former judgment as res judicata insofar as their own misrepresentations, though innocently made, led to plaintiff’s failure to include her entire claim in the original action. (White v. Adler, 289 N.Y. 34 [43 N.E.2d 798, 142 A.L.R. 898]; Vineseck v. Great Northern R. Co., 136 Minn. 96 [161 N.W. 494, 2 A.L.R. 530, 531]; Restatement: Judgments, § 62(b) and Comment; see Panos v. Great Western Packing Co., 21 Cal.2d 636 [134 P.2d 242]; 2 A.L.R. 534, 142 A.L.R. 905.)
As to that part of the injury caused by defendants and included in plaintiff’s action against Wubben, the judgment in that action cannot alone discharge defendants, but satisfaction of that judgment would discharge them in the absence of duress, fraud, or mistake. The applicable rule is set forth in section 95 of the Restatement of Judgments: “The discharge or satisfaction of a judgment against one of several persons each of whom is liable for a tort, breach of contract, or other breach of duty, discharges each of the others from liability therefor.” (See, also, Restatement: Torts, § 886.) This rule applies when the original wrongdoer satisfies a judgment that includes damages for aggravation of the injury because of the negligence of an independent tortfeasor. (Restatement: Judgments, § 95, Comment e; see Butler v. Ashworth, 110 Cal. 614 [43 P.4, 386]; Milks v. McIver, 264 N.Y. 267 [190 N.E. 487] ; Phillips v. Werndorff, 215 Iowa 521 [243 N.W. 525]; Thompson v. Fox, 326 Pa. 209 [192 A. 107, 112 A.L.R. 550] ; 29 Columb.L.Rev. 630, 634; 18 Cornell L.Q. 257, 258; 41 Am.Jur., Physicians and Surgeons, § 137.) Where a judgment against a defendant responsible for the entire harm is satisfied as a whole, the obligation of another obligor is extinguished, whether the judgment was discharged by payment of its full amount or by any other performance received in satisfaction of the judgment. “The fact that plaintiff recovered only part of the damages to which he was entitled is immaterial” (2 Freeman on Judgments (1925), *663§ 578, p. 1225; Blackman v. Simpson, 120 Mich. 377 [79 N.W. 573, 58 L.R.A. 410]; Westbrook v. Mize, 35 Kan. 299 [10 P. 881]), if the injured person has received “what in law is deemed the equivalent” to actual satisfaction. (Urton v. Price, 57 Cal. 270, 272; see Dawson v. Schloss, 93 Cal. 194, 199 [29 P. 31] ; Chetwood v. California Nat. Bank, 113 Cal. 414 [45 P. 704] ; Tompkin v. Clay St. R. R., 66 Cal. 163 [4 P. 1165]; Butler v. Ashworth, 110 Cal. 614 [43 P. 4, 386]; Grundel v. Union Iron Works, 127 Cal. 438, 442 [59 P. 826, 78 Am.St.Rep. 75, 47 L.R.A. 467] ; Black v. Bringhurst, 7 Cal.App.2d 711 [46 P.2d 993]; Minchan v. Silveria, 11 Cal.App.2d 266 [53 P.2d 770]; 6 Cal.L.Rev. 230.)
Plaintiff, according to the instrument she executed, received $5,753.22 “for the purpose of making a full and final compromise, adjustment and settlement of all claims for injuries, losses and damages resulting or to result from said accident” and discharged Wubben “from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands of whatsoever kind or nature on account of any and all known and unknown injuries, losses and damages.” It was therefore the obvious intention of the parties to have the payment of $5,753.22 extinguish the entire judgment, not merely a part of it. By thus discharging Wubben’s entire obligation, the parties did not intend to reserve plaintiff’s rights against the other tort feasors for any damages covered by the judgment; nor could they have so intended, for neither of them knew or suspected that plaintiff had any claim against defendants. If “facts and intentions control” (McKenna v. Austin, 134 F.2d 659, 664), the settlement was made and accepted in full satisfaction of the judgment. Plaintiff’s right of action against defendants for any damages covered by the judgment would therefore be barred were it not for the fact that the agreement between her and Wubben was made in ignorance of her claim against them. A general release purporting to cover all claims does not extend to claims that the creditor does not know or suspect exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, if knowledge of such claims would have materially affected his settlement with the debtor. (Civ. Code, §1542; Backus v. Sessions, 17 Cal.2d 380 [110 P.2d 51].; O’Meara v. Haiden, 204 Cal. 354 [268 P. 334, 60 A.L.R. 1381]; see 30 Cal.L.Rev. 111; 96 A.L.R. 1144.) The provision in the release making it applicable to “unknown injuries, losses and damages” relates only to unknown claims against Wubben (see Berry v. Strubble, 20 *664Cal.App.2d 299 [66 P.2d 746]), but not to unknown claims against others.
Plaintiff in the present action may therefore recover: (a) damages for that part of the injury that can be attributed to malpractice of the defendants, which, because of their representations, innocent or otherwise, were not included in the judgment against Wubben; (b) that part of the damages included in the judgment against Wubben that can be attributed to malpractice of defendants, less such part, if any, of the $5,753.22 already received from Wubben as exceeds the amount of damages for which Wubben is alone responsible.
Edmonds, J., concurred.
Respondents’ petition for a rehearing was denied September 1, 1944.