Court Opinion

ID: 9703343
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:52:45.853368+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:47.685014
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, J.
(concurring). How long after retirement should a doctor have to carry malpractice insurance? The statute of limitations defense, successfully raised against a meritless case, will save the retired doctor large amounts of attorneys’ fees which he would otherwise have to pay to defend and win after a trial. The discovery rule insures that a trial, with its attendant expense, will be held in every case.
The affidavit of Dr. Farrell, submitted in support of his motion for summary judgment, stated:
“From the time I commenced practicing in 1935, through the year 1955 and thereafter I was doing a considerable amount of traumatic surgery and I was also doing elective surgery including herniorrhaphy on a routine basis. At that time injury to the vasa was well recognized as a possible complication in hernia surgery of the type I was doing on Michael. It was one of the dangers I was aware of and was trying hard to avoid. The possibility of such an injury occurring unintentionally and unknowingly is increased when the patient is a small child as was Michael. In addition, there are ana*358tomical variations from person to person which are complicating factors, particularly when combined with this surgery on a small child. It is my opinion that such unfortunate complications as the severing of a vasa or the severing of the vasa during herniorrhaphy can and do occur without any negligence on the part of the surgeon. If in fact Michael’s vasa were severed by me during that surgery in 1955, I believe that it happened although I was operating carefully and despite the fact that I then possessed and was exercising the degree of care, skill and judgment which physicians in good standing in my field of general practice usually exercise under those circumstances and having due regard to the state of medical science at that time.”
The affidavit of another doctor, submitted on behalf of the plaintiffs, stated that a severing of the vasa during hernia surgery could not have occurred without negligence on the part of the physician. Thus, it is clear that this case if tried would go to the jury on a theory of res ipsa loquitur, with the expert witnesses testifying to half remembered surgical standards of 25 years ago. Beginning with Fehrman v. Smirl, 20 Wis.2d 1, 121 N.W.2d 255 (1963), this court has continuously relaxed the rules of proof in medical malpractice cases. The underlying policy reason is that the cost of negligence can reasonably be insured against where there exists a statute of limitation. Where an insurance policy is in existence, the insurer undertakes to defend its insured. But what of the retired doctor, no longer covered by malpractice insurance? Should he be denied peace of mind because of an event that incurred in the distant past?
How much insurance should a physician carry to protect himself against claims for malpractice which might be made 25 years later? Is there an insurance underwriter who is able to predict the cost of medical malpractice insurance 25 years down the road in view of the present inflationary spiral? At the current rate of inflation, it might take two billion dollars of coverage in 25 years to provide the same protection that one mil*359lion dollars of coverage provides now. Is the estate of a deceased doctor to be liable for a costly malpractice claim 25 years hence? If the estate has been distributed, are the heirs subject to suit? Moreover, if we were to adopt a discovery rule for medical malpractice cases in this state, it is evident that any insurance company which underwrites the complicated, high risk types of surgery must charge high premiums for coverage in the fields of cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatric surgery and cardiac surgery. Adoption of a discovery rule will also serve to increase, to the consumer, the already high cost of medical care. In view of the fact that the medical profession is being castigated, almost daily, for rising medical costs, would we not be mandating increased insurance costs to the doctor that must in turn be passed on to the patient by adoption of the discovery rule ?
How can we expect a young doctor to testify as an expert witness to medical practices and procedures of 25 years earlier when he was not in practice? Surgical techniques have changed rapidly over the years. Will we inhibit innovative surgery undertaken in teaching hospitals, which are in the forefront of medical research, by giving open-ended extension to the statute of limita-tiohs? Advances such as the transplanting of a heart and kidney in the 1950’s and 1960’s or the reattachment of a severed hand or arm were unthought of many years ago. Future advances, particularly in teaching hospitals, will be too extraordinary to even predict. What surgeon will assume the risk of delicate, high risk surgery to save a human life where there exists a discovery rule tolling the statute of limitations period indefinitely? This is especially true where some judgment call during an arduous 8-hour surgical procedure may be the subject of a malpractice lawsuit 25 years hence. It is my belief that the adoption of a discovery rule would inhibit medical research in the years ahead, again to the detri*360ment of the patient who will suffer as a result of the lack of improved medical care and treatment.
Our statutes of limitation relating to personal injuries must be interpreted and applied uniformly. As the per curiam opinion points out, the uniform interpretation of these statutes has been that a cause of action accrues at the time an injury occurs, even though the injured party might not be aware of the injury. In some medical malpractice cases, this will deny some plaintiffs the opportunity to recover for injuries negligently inflicted. In many more, retired doctors no longer with malpractice insurance coverage will be protected from spurious claims. Where to strike the balance is a matter for the legislature, not for this court. The legislature is best suited to deal with this problem through full and open hearings where all interested parties (doctors, lawyers, economists, insurance underwriters, associate medical personnel and consumer representatives) will have the opportunity to present their thoughts and also outline any problems that may exist.