Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

After Charlene Jorgensen underwent two breast reduction surgeries by Dr. Adam Smith, she and her husband filed suit in May 2020, alleging the second surgery in 2018 was negligently performed and left Charlene disfigured. Their claims included medical negligence and lack of informed consent against Dr. Smith, medical negligence and respondeat superior against Smith’s professional corporation, and negligent retention and respondeat superior against Tri-State Specialists, LLP. The plaintiffs timely served a certificate of merit affidavit from Dr. Mark Jewell, which addressed Dr. Smith’s surgical care, but did not specifically address negligent retention by Tri-State.The Iowa District Court for Woodbury County denied the defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment, which challenged the negligent retention claim based on Iowa Code section 147.140 and section 668.11, arguing the certificate of merit affidavit was insufficient. The defendants sought interlocutory review. In a prior appeal (Jorgensen I), the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the district court, holding that section 147.140 did not apply to the negligent retention claim and distinguishing Struck v. Mercy Health Services-Iowa Corp. The Court also found section 668.11 did not bar the negligent retention claim since Tri-State was not a licensed professional under the statute.Following remand, the defendants filed two further summary judgment motions challenging the sufficiency and applicability of the certificate of merit affidavit. The district court again denied these motions, and the defendants appealed. The Supreme Court of Iowa, applying the law-of-the-case doctrine, concluded that issues or matters necessarily decided in the prior appeal could not be re-examined. The Court affirmed the district court’s denial of the summary judgment motions and remanded the case for trial, holding that the law-of-the-case doctrine barred reconsideration of the certificate of merit issues and applicability of section 147.140 to the negligent retention claim. View "Jorgensen v. Smith" on Justia Law

A woman was severely injured while assisting a man who was operating a horse-drawn sickle mower on his property. After mowing, the man asked the woman to hold the horses by a lead rope while he raised the sickle bar. When the sickle bar suddenly dropped to the ground, the noise startled the horses, causing them to move, which led to the woman falling and being run over and dragged by the mower. She suffered catastrophic injuries, including paralysis, and incurred substantial medical expenses.The Iowa District Court for Madison County granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, dismissing the plaintiff’s personal injury suit on the grounds that the defendant was immune from liability under the Iowa Domesticated Animal Activities Act. The plaintiff appealed, arguing that the defendant’s conduct was either not protected by the statute or, if it was, that it fell within the recklessness exception to immunity. The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the application of statutory immunity but reversed the district court’s decision on recklessness, holding that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendant’s conduct was reckless, thus allowing the suit to proceed.The Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed the case and held that the statutory immunity under the Domesticated Animal Activities Act applied, as the injury resulted from the inherent risks of driving a team of horses. The court found that the plaintiff’s expert evidence did not establish that the defendant acted with recklessness, as defined under Iowa law, but only suggested ordinary negligence. Therefore, the Supreme Court of Iowa vacated the decision of the court of appeals and affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the action. View "Shafer v. Santana" on Justia Law

The plaintiff sought treatment at a hospital for abdominal pain in January 2018. Multiple medical professionals reviewed his CT scan, which showed a suspected mass on his kidney, but none documented or communicated this abnormal finding to him or to other medical staff. He was discharged without being informed of the mass. Over the next several years, other doctors also failed to alert him to the mass despite reviewing his earlier scans. In July 2021, a new MRI revealed a kidney mass, later confirmed to be cancer, resulting in the removal of his right kidney. The plaintiff filed a medical malpractice suit in September 2023.In district court in Linn County, the plaintiff filed certificates of merit to support his claim. After the Iowa Supreme Court decided Miller v. Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa Corp., which clarified the requirements for such certificates, the defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing the certificates were defective. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice and filed a new but identical lawsuit within six months, citing Iowa’s savings statute, Iowa Code § 614.10. The district court dismissed the second suit, holding that the savings statute did not apply because the failure of the first suit was not compelled and was due to the plaintiff’s own negligence in prosecuting the case.The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed the appeal and held that the savings statute did apply. The court found that the plaintiff’s failure to provide compliant certificates of merit was not due to negligence, as the legal requirements were unsettled prior to Miller. Additionally, it was not necessary for the plaintiff to resist summary judgment with futile arguments. The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s dismissal and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Trask v. Ahmed" on Justia Law

A sixty-seven-year-old employee, who had a significant history of back injuries and chronic pain, began working as a dishwasher for a senior living center. Shortly after starting, he experienced a fall at work. While initial medical assessments showed no new injury, subsequent examinations by the employer’s chosen treating physician indicated a possible aggravation of his preexisting conditions, leading to recommended surgery. The employer requested an independent medical exam, resulting in a conflicting medical opinion that attributed the employee’s symptoms and need for surgery to longstanding, unrelated back issues rather than the workplace accident. The employee underwent surgery and later sought workers’ compensation benefits, arguing the employer should be bound by its chosen physician’s causation opinion.The Iowa District Court for Polk County reviewed the agency’s denial of permanent disability benefits, finding the decision was supported by substantial evidence. The district court rejected the employee’s legal argument that the employer was bound by its chosen treating physician’s opinion. The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision, concluding that the employee failed to preserve error on the binding-physician argument because he did not file a motion for rehearing to obtain a specific agency ruling on that point.The Iowa Supreme Court granted further review to address error preservation and the merits of the binding-physician argument. The court held that the employee preserved error by raising his argument before the agency, which necessarily rejected it by relying on the independent examiner’s opinion. A motion for rehearing was not required. On the merits, the court held that an employer in a contested case is not bound by the causation opinion of its chosen treating physician when another qualified expert provides a contrary opinion. The court affirmed the commissioner’s denial of benefits as supported by substantial evidence. The court affirmed in part and vacated in part the decision of the court of appeals, and affirmed the district court judgment. View "Hayes v. Christian Retirement Homes, Inc." on Justia Law

A mother consented to have an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist perform surgery on her two-year-old son, but was not informed that a fourth-year medical resident would assist with or perform the procedure. After surgery, the child suffered internal bleeding, was hospitalized twice, and ultimately died from a hemorrhage related to the site of the surgery. The mother, both individually and as administrator for her son’s estate, sued the ENT doctor and his employer for medical negligence in postoperative care and for failure to secure informed consent regarding the resident’s participation.The Iowa District Court for Johnson County dismissed the action with prejudice. The court determined that the certificate of merit (COM) submitted by the plaintiffs did not comply with Iowa Code section 147.140 because it was not signed under oath or penalty of perjury, following the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Catholic Health Initiatives–Iowa, Corp. The district court concluded that a COM was required for all claims, including the informed-consent claim, and rejected arguments that the defendants had waited too long to challenge the COM or that subsequent affidavits could cure the original defect.The Supreme Court of Iowa held that a COM is not required for a claim alleging lack of informed consent, reversing the district court’s dismissal of that claim. The court reasoned that Iowa’s "patient rule" for informed consent focuses on the information a reasonable patient would want, and expert testimony is not required to establish a prima facie case for lack of informed consent regarding who performs the surgery. However, the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the medical negligence claims due to noncompliance with the COM requirements and rejected the plaintiffs’ constitutional and procedural arguments. The case was remanded for further proceedings on the informed-consent claim only. View "Lofgren v. Simpson" on Justia Law

Cynthia Miles, a sixty-four-year-old woman suffering from acute psychosis and a history of suicidal ideation, experienced several psychiatric crises in 2021. After multiple hospitalizations and escapes from care facilities, she was admitted to Harbor Point, an unlocked mental health facility, where she again escaped on November 11, 2021. Despite a search, Miles was never found. Her family, having previously experienced her disappearances followed by safe returns, could not determine her fate. After extensive efforts to locate her failed, her family petitioned the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County for a judicial determination of death. Following a jury trial, the court issued a certificate of presumed death on August 29, 2022.Subsequently, Miles’s daughter, as administrator of her estate, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several healthcare providers. The defendants asserted that the action was time-barred under Iowa’s two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death claims, arguing that the limitations period began either at Miles’s disappearance or when the family first sought a declaration of death. The Iowa District Court for Cass County rejected this argument, ruling that the statute of limitations began only upon the judicial declaration of death, not the earlier disappearance.The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed the interlocutory appeal to determine when the limitations period commenced. The court held that, in a case where there is no known physical injury and it is unclear whether the missing person is alive or dead, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim does not begin to run until there is a judicial determination of death. The court affirmed the district court’s ruling, allowing the wrongful death action to proceed as timely filed. View "Schneide v. Holliday" on Justia Law

A patient suffered an injury during knee surgery in March 2022 and, together with his wife, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the operating surgeon and the orthopedic clinic in January 2023. Iowa law requires medical malpractice plaintiffs to serve a certificate of merit affidavit within sixty days after the defendant’s answer to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs served a certificate of merit within the deadline. However, the document was not sworn before an authorized officer and did not include the phrase “penalty of perjury” as required by Iowa statutes. Over a year later, the plaintiffs served an amended certificate that met the affidavit requirements, but it was well past the statutory deadline.After the defendants answered and discovery proceeded for more than a year, the defendants moved to dismiss in the Iowa District Court for Polk County, arguing that the timely certificate did not comply with statutory requirements. The district court found that the initial certificate was neither a true affidavit nor a permissible substitute under the relevant statutes. The court also concluded that the late-filed, proper affidavit could not cure the statutory violation because it was not filed within the required sixty days and there was no extension by agreement or motion. The district court dismissed the case.The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed the appeal. It held that substantial compliance with the certificate of merit affidavit requirement means providing either a true affidavit executed before an authorized person or a statement under penalty of perjury within sixty days. The plaintiffs failed to do either within the deadline, and their later submission could not cure the defect. The court also rejected arguments that the defendants had waived the affidavit requirement or that the statutory scheme violated the Iowa Constitution. The decision of the district court was affirmed. View "Rarick v. Smidt" on Justia Law

A patient was admitted to a hospital with acute pancreatitis and later transferred to the critical care unit, where he received continuous dialysis through a catheter. A nurse on his care team failed to properly secure the dialysis tubing and fastened it to the bedrail without adequate slack. When the patient was repositioned, the catheter was pulled from his neck, leading to air entering the line and causing cardiac arrest. The patient’s wife, who was present, later filed a lawsuit as executor of his estate, alleging that the nurse was negligent and that the hospital was both vicariously liable for the nurse’s actions and directly negligent in retaining her, given her involvement in a previous patient death. The wife also sought damages for her own emotional distress as a bystander and requested punitive damages.The Iowa District Court for Polk County denied the hospital’s motion for summary judgment on the claims for negligent retention, bystander emotional distress, and punitive damages. The district court held that Iowa law allowed a negligent retention claim even where the employer had stipulated to vicarious liability for the employee’s conduct, found that there was a triable issue as to whether the wife contemporaneously perceived the negligent event for emotional distress damages, and concluded that punitive damages could not be ruled out as a matter of law.The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the district court’s denial of summary judgment and remanded the case. The court held that when an employer does not dispute vicarious liability for an employee’s conduct, claims for negligent hiring, retention, or supervision are precluded. The court also held that the wife’s claim for bystander emotional distress failed as a matter of law because she did not contemporaneously perceive the injury-producing event. Finally, the court concluded there was insufficient evidence for punitive damages against the hospital or the nurse. View "Baldwin v. Central Iowa Hospital Corp." on Justia Law

After a woman was injured in a car accident and treated at a hospital, an X-ray suggested a lung nodule, and her medical records recommended a chest CT scan for further investigation. No CT scan was ordered or performed, and she was released. Almost two years later, after suffering a femur fracture, a CT scan at a different hospital revealed cancer, and she subsequently passed away. Her husband and children, representing themselves and her estate, brought a wrongful-death medical malpractice suit against the hospital and multiple providers, alleging failure to properly follow up on the lung nodule.In the Iowa District Court for Scott County, the plaintiffs timely served certificates of merit as required by Iowa Code section 147.140, but these certificates were neither notarized nor included a statement that they were signed under penalty of perjury. Following the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp., the defendants moved to dismiss, arguing the certificates did not satisfy statutory requirements. The plaintiffs resisted, providing new expert statements but maintaining these were not amendments. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss with prejudice. After the death of one of the original plaintiffs, his son was appointed as executor and administrator for the estates. Notices of appeal were filed, initially signed by the non-lawyer administrator.The Supreme Court of Iowa first determined that the estates’ appeal should not be dismissed due to the unauthorized practice of law in filing the notice of appeal, since counsel promptly appeared and continued representation. On the substantive issue, the court was evenly divided on whether the district court correctly dismissed the suit for noncompliance with section 147.140. As a result, the dismissal was affirmed by operation of law. The motion to dismiss the appeal was denied, but the district court judgment was affirmed. View "Willhoite v. Genesis Health System" on Justia Law

A resident of a skilled nursing facility signed an arbitration agreement upon admission. Twelve days later, the resident died. The resident’s husband, acting both individually and as executor of her estate, brought suit in Iowa District Court for Henry County against the nursing facility and several related entities, as well as additional healthcare providers. He alleged negligence, gross negligence, wrongful death, and dependent adult abuse. Nearly a year into the litigation, the nursing facility defendants moved to compel arbitration based on the agreement signed by the decedent.The Iowa District Court for Henry County granted the motion to compel arbitration. The court reasoned that, under the existing Iowa precedent, waiver of the right to arbitrate requires both conduct inconsistent with that right and prejudice to the opposing party—a two-part test established in prior Iowa Supreme Court cases. Applying this standard, the district court found limited prejudice to the plaintiff because discovery had not been extensive and the trial date was still far off. The plaintiff was granted interlocutory appeal.The Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed the case for correction of errors at law. The court determined that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) governed because the agreement involved interstate commerce, and that the FAA preempts Iowa's arbitration-specific waiver rule, which requires a showing of prejudice. Instead, the court held that the generally applicable contract law standard for waiver applies: the voluntary or intentional relinquishment of a known right. Applying this standard, the Supreme Court of Iowa concluded that the nursing facility had impliedly waived its contractual right to arbitration by participating in litigation and discovery for months after being aware of the arbitration agreement, and by delaying a motion to compel arbitration. The Supreme Court of Iowa reversed the district court’s order and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Cole v. Southeast Iowa Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine" on Justia Law