Court Opinion

ID: 9845662
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:25:54.582513+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:17.479244
License: Public Domain

Hunt, Justice,
dissenting.
In Ringewald v. Crawford W. Long Mem. Hosp., 258 Ga. 302 (368 SE2d 490) (1988), this court, in a four-three decision concurred in by the author of the present majority opinion, held that OCGA § 9-3-72, established a separate statute of limitation “where a foreign object has been left in a patient’s body” of “one year after the negligent or wrongful act or omission is discovered,” regardless of the two-year *505general medical malpractice limitation. In so ruling, the Ringewald majority relied both on the plain language of the statute and on the fact that the legislature did not amend OCGA § 9-3-72 when it amended OCGA § 9-3-71 to add a statute of repose, even though the General Assembly was presumably aware of a similar interpretation of this Code section by the Court of Appeals in Hamrick v. Ray, 171 Ga. App. 60 (318 SE2d 790) (1984). Since Ringewald was decided, the legislature has convened two more times and has not seen fit to amend this Code section, even though in 1989, it added new provisions tolling the statute of limitation. Ga. L. 1989, p. 419. Thus nothing has changed, and the legislative intent as perceived by this court in Ringewald has, in effect, been ratified by that body.2 Conversely, the reasoning of the dissent in Ringewald has not achieved legislative sanction. Nonetheless, that reasoning — as clear and articulate two years ago as it is today — has been adopted by this majority. Perhaps the doctrine of stare decisis is no longer in vogue, but is it not unsettling to the practicing bar to recognize the willingness of this court to alter its interpretation of a statute as subsequent cases arise?
Decided October 24, 1990 —
Reconsideration denied November 7, 1990.
Jones, Cork & Miller, Thomas C. Alexander, Brandon A. Oren, for appellant.
Taylor & Harp, J. Sherrod Taylor, J. Anderson Harp, Jefferson C. Callier, Brinkley & Brinkley, Jack T. Brinkley, Sr., for appellee.
We granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals to determine whether a majority of that court correctly decided whether a washer, intentionally left in the body by the surgeon, was a foreign object. That was the only issue briefed and argued. I would reach that issue, and I would not overrule Ringewald. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Justice Fletcher joins in this dissent.

 That the General Assembly has the authority to trim to one year the time within which a claim involving a foreign object may be asserted is unchallenged. The wisdom of the reduction may be debated but the fact that it creates no undue burden or unfairness should be obvious.