Justia Medical Malpractice Opinion Summaries

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 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

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

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 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

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

A patient underwent surgery on September 4, 2020, and died twelve days later. Her estate and children brought a medical malpractice suit against the surgeon and hospital, alleging negligence. The defendants sought dismissal, arguing the plaintiffs had not satisfied Iowa’s certificate of merit requirements under Iowa Code section 147.140(1), which mandates a supporting expert affidavit early in medical malpractice litigation. The district court denied the motion to dismiss.The defendants then sought interlocutory review from the Iowa Supreme Court. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the district court’s denial, finding the plaintiffs had not complied with the statutory affidavit requirement, and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case with prejudice. Following the remand, the plaintiffs attempted to file dismissals without prejudice before and after the district court’s order of dismissal with prejudice. Despite these filings, the district court entered a dismissal with prejudice as directed by the Iowa Supreme Court. The plaintiffs then filed a new lawsuit asserting the same claims against the same defendants. The defendants moved to dismiss this second action, citing claim preclusion (res judicata) and the statute of limitations. The Iowa District Court for Clinton County dismissed the second action.On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. The court held that its prior mandate required dismissal with prejudice, and any attempt by the plaintiffs to dismiss without prejudice was contrary to that mandate and thus ineffective. The court found that the elements of claim preclusion were satisfied: the parties and claims were identical to the prior action, and there was a final judgment on the merits. Accordingly, the second lawsuit was barred. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal on claim preclusion grounds. View "Shontz v. Mercy Medical Center-Clinton, Inc." on Justia Law

Jenna Sondag underwent hip surgery performed by Dr. John Hoffman at Orthopaedic Specialists, P.C. in February 2017. She filed a medical malpractice action in January 2019, agreeing to designate expert witnesses by a deadline set under Iowa Code section 668.11. Sondag missed this deadline due to a combination of her attorneys’ involvement in a lengthy trial, a medical emergency affecting one attorney, and a calendaring error by their docketing software. The defendants moved for summary judgment based on the missed deadline, while Sondag sought an extension to name her expert witnesses.The Iowa District Court for Scott County held a hearing on both motions, and in 2019, found good cause for Sondag’s delay due to the circumstances described. The court denied summary judgment and extended the expert designation deadline. The defendants did not seek interlocutory appeal at that time. Nearly four years later, days before trial, the district court revisited its prior order after the defendants filed a motion in limine to decertify Sondag’s expert. The court reversed its earlier finding, excluded the expert, and dismissed the case for failure to timely designate an expert witness.Sondag appealed, and the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, siding with the district court’s 2023 decision. The Supreme Court of Iowa granted further review. The Supreme Court held that while a district court may correct an erroneous ruling before final judgment, its 2019 order extending the deadline was not an abuse of discretion, but its 2023 order excluding the expert and dismissing the case was an abuse of discretion. The court vacated the decision of the court of appeals, reversed the district court’s judgment, and remanded the case for trial. View "Sondag v. Orthopaedic Speciatists, P.C." on Justia Law

The plaintiff underwent a total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, performed by a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist at a medical center. Subsequently, she experienced symptoms that led to the discovery of a ureteral injury requiring surgical repair at a different facility. She alleged that the defendants were negligent in both the performance of the surgery and the postoperative care. To support her claims, she designated a board-certified urologist as her expert witness to opine on the applicable standard of care and alleged breach.After the expert’s deposition, the defendants moved to strike his testimony, arguing that he was not qualified under Iowa Code section 147.139 because he was not board-certified in the same or a substantially similar specialty as the defendant physician. The Iowa District Court for Polk County agreed, concluding that urology was not substantially similar to obstetrics and gynecology, and therefore the plaintiff’s expert was not qualified to testify about the standard of care or breach. Lacking a qualified expert, the district court also granted summary judgment for the defendants, effectively dismissing the case.On appeal, the Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed whether the district court erred in its application of the statutory requirements for expert qualification. The court held that, while both physicians were licensed to practice medicine, the statute required that, where the defendant is board-certified, the plaintiff’s expert must also be board-certified in the same or a substantially similar specialty. The court concluded that urology and obstetrics/gynecology are not substantially similar specialties. As a result, the Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed the district court’s decision to strike the expert and grant summary judgment for the defendants. View "Jones v. Lindell" on Justia Law

A woman underwent knee replacement surgery at a hospital and soon developed respiratory distress. Shortly after the operation, she allegedly suffered a femur fracture in a fall while hospitalized, which her doctor failed to detect on an X-ray. The following day, she fell again, reportedly because a nurse fell on her while assisting her, resulting in a more severe fracture. This severe injury caused fat emboli to enter her bloodstream and led to a pulmonary embolism. She was transferred to another hospital, where her deteriorating condition was documented. She died nearly two weeks later. Her estate filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that the defendants’ negligence in failing to diagnose and prevent the fracture ultimately caused her death.The Iowa District Court for Polk County granted summary judgment for the defendants, dismissing the lawsuit as untimely under Iowa Code § 614.1(9)(a), which imposes a two-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice actions. The district court determined that the estate knew or should have known of the injury and its cause by February 5, 2021, the date the decedent was transferred and her injury was documented. Because the estate filed its petition on February 17, 2023, more than two years later, the court found the claims time-barred.Reviewing the case, the Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed the district court’s decision. The Supreme Court held that, under Iowa law, wrongful-death claims based on medical malpractice are derivative of the decedent’s personal injury claims. When the injury and its negligent cause are known during the decedent’s lifetime, the limitations period begins at that time, not the date of death. Because the estate had knowledge of the injury and its cause by February 5, 2021, the wrongful-death action was untimely and barred by the statute of limitations. View "Cataldo v. RCHP-Ottumwa, LLC" on Justia Law