FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
DAVID W. HOLUB DANE L. TUBERGEN
JILL D. MANGES MARK W. BAEVERSTAD
Ruman, Clements & Holub, P.C. Hunt Suedhoff Kalamaros, LLP
Hammond, Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana
LINDA JOHNSON, as Co-Personal )
Representative of the Estate of )
JASON MILLS, Deceased, )
Appellant-Plaintiff, )
)
vs. ) No. 02A03-0303-CV-108
)
PARKVIEW HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC., )
d/b/a PARKVIEW MEMORIAL )
HOSPITAL, )
Appellee-Defendant. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
Linda Johnson (Johnson), as co-personal representative of the estate of her son, Jason
Mills (Jason), appeals the trial courts decision granting summary judgment to Parkview Health
Systems (Parkview) on her wrongful death claim.
See footnote She presents several issues for
our review, which we restate as whether a personal representative may maintain an
action under the Child Wrongful Death Statute, and whether the complaint could be
amended to include Johnson in her individual capacity.
The judgment is reversed.
Jason, the eighteen-year-old son of Johnson, was injured in an automobile accident on
May 16, 1998. Jason was admitted to Parkview Memorial Hospital for treatment.
On May 25 and early in the morning on May 26, Jasons
condition began to decline. No doctor was called until 6:55 a.m. on
May 26. However, neither the first nor second doctor paged by the
nurses was able to assist in the care of Jason. A third
doctor was paged between 7:05 and 7:15 a.m. At 7:15 a.m., Jason
was found to be unresponsive and lying in a pool of blood.
A code blue was initiated. The doctors and nurses were unable to
resuscitate Jason.
Following the Medical Review Panels determination that Parkview failed to comply with the
appropriate standard of care in the treatment of Jason, Johnson, as personal
representative of Jasons estate, filed this cause of action against Parkview on April
12, 2002. In the complaint, she alleged that as a direct and
proximate result of the carelessness and negligence of defendant, the estate of plaintiffs
decedent incurred extraordinary medical and funeral expenses, and the dependent next-of-kin of plaintiffs
decedent as well as plaintiff and his other family members were also injured
and damaged. Appendix at 38. Finally, she noted that she was
appointed as personal representative for the purpose of proceeding in the cause of
action.
Parkview filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming in part that the action
was brought under Indiana Code § 34-23-1-1 (Burns Code Ed. Repl. 1998), the
General Wrongful Death Statute (WDS), and that recovery was unavailable because Jason was
not survived by next-of-kin. This claim was supported by designated evidence and
argument in the memorandum in support of the motion for summary judgment.
Johnson subsequently filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion for summary judgment.
She asserted that the cause of action was appropriately brought under the
Child Wrongful Death Statute (CWDS), Ind. Code § 34-23-2-1 (Burns Code Ed. Repl.
1998), and that Parkview was incorrect in stating that it was brought under
the WDS. Further, she claimed that the CWDS does not prohibit a
personal representative from initiating such an action, and because a personal representative must
bring an action under the WDS, the two statutes should be construed together
to produce a harmonious result. Thus, she opined that a personal representative
must be allowed to bring a claim under the CWDS. Finally, she
stated that if she could not proceed as personal representative that she should
be allowed to amend the complaint to include both herself and Jasons father
in their individual capacities so that the action might proceed.
The trial court subsequently concluded that Jason was a child within the meaning
of I.C. § 34-23-2-1 and that the action must be maintained under the
CWDS. The trial court then concluded that the case of
Hosler v. Caterpillar,
Inc., 710 N.E.2d 193 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied, was dispositive of
the issues in this case. Based upon its understanding of Hosler, the
trial court determined that Johnson could not maintain the action as personal representative
and was unable to amend the complaint to change her status from personal
representative to that of her individual capacity.
Summary judgment is appropriate when the designated evidentiary matter reveals that there is
no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled
to judgment as a matter of law. Hammock v. Red Gold, Inc.,
784 N.E.2d 495, 498 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003), trans. denied. The moving
party bears the burden of making a prima facie showing that there are
no genuine issues of material fact and that there is an entitlement to
judgment as a matter of law. Id. If the moving party
meets these requirements, the burden then shifts to the nonmovant to establish genuine
issues of material fact for trial. Id.
In reviewing the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment, we
are bound by the same standard as the trial court. Id.
We consider only those facts which were designated to the trial court at
the summary judgment stage. Id. We do not reweigh the evidence,
but rather, liberally construe all designated evidentiary material in the light most favorable
to the nonmoving party to determine whether there is a genuine issue of
material fact. Id. Even if the facts are undisputed, summary judgment
is inappropriate where the record reveals an incorrect application of the law to
the facts. Id.
Actions for wrongful death are purely statutory in nature. City of Indianapolis
v. Taylor, 707 N.E.2d 1047, 1059 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied.
At common law, there was no liability in tort for killing another because
actions for personal injury did not survive the death of the injured party.
Id. Therefore, actions for wrongful death, including those under the CWDS,
should be strictly construed against the expansion of liability. Forte v. Connerwood
Healthcare, Inc., 745 N.E.2d 796, 800 (Ind. 2001).
The interpretation of a statute is a question of law which is reserved
for the courts. Grabarczyk v. State, 772 N.E.2d 428, 430 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2002). When construing a statute, our foremost objective is to ascertain
and give effect to the intent of the legislature. Melrose v. Capitol
City Motor Lodge, Inc., 705 N.E.2d 985, 989 (Ind. 1998). We examine
the statute as a whole and give common and ordinary meaning to the
words employed. Robinson v. Wroblewski, 704 N.E.2d 467, 474 (Ind. 1998).
We presume that the legislature intended the language to be applied in a
logical manner consistent with the statutes underlying policy and goals. Citizens Action
Coalition of Indiana, Inc. v. Indiana Statewide Assn of Rural Elec. Coops., Inc.,
693 N.E.2d 1324, 1327 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).
Parkview asserts that summary judgment was appropriate because Johnson pursued the claim under
the WDS rather than the CWDS. To support its claim, Parkview relies
upon Estate of Sears v. Griffin, 771 N.E.2d 1136, 1138 (Ind. 2002).
In that case, our Supreme Court held that the WDS and the CWDS
are disjunctive. Id. In other words, if a decedent fits within
the description of one statute, the decedent will not fit within the other.
More to the point, if the decedent fits within the CWDS description,
that statute provides the exclusive remedy for wrongful death. Id. As
alluded to by our Supreme Court in a parenthetical citation, the CWDS and
the WDS do not afford optionally alternative remedies and they cannot be pursued
together. Id.
From reading the complaint, we deduce that Johnson initially was pursuing this cause
of action under the WDS. Specifically, Johnson pursued the action as the
personal representative of Jasons estate rather than as his mother. In fact,
she stated in the complaint that she was appointed as personal representative for
the purpose of pursuing this claim. This is significant because the WDS
requires that any action pursued therein be brought by the personal representative of
the decedents estate. Hosler, 710 N.E.2d at 196; I.C. § 34-23-1-1 (stating
the action shall be commenced by the personal representative of the decedent).
Further, the complaint stated that Jasons estate incurred extraordinary medical and funeral expenses,
and the dependent next-of-kin of plaintiffs decedent as well as plaintiff and his
other family members were also injured and damaged. App. at 38. The
words dependent next-of-kin are found in the WDS but are not included in
the CWDS. In fact, the concept that the decedent may have dependents
is totally foreign to the CWDS. According to the CWDS, a decedent
may only be a child within the meaning of the CWDS if that
individual is without dependents. I.C. § 34-23-2-1. Thus, there is little
doubt that the complaint filed by Johnson was prominently influenced by the WDS.
Nonetheless, we cannot say that summary judgment is appropriate upon the ground
that Johnson was pursuing a claim upon a theory which was unavailable to
her.
In her answer to interrogatories submitted by Parkview, Johnson explicitly stated that
she was pursuing the claim under the CWDS. Also, the facts which
she alleged clearly indicated that Jason was a child for purposes of the
CWDS. This information was designated to the trial court for its consideration
in ruling upon the motion for summary judgment. These facts were also
argued before the trial court at the hearing upon the summary judgment motion.
Therefore, while there may have initially been some question about which theory
of recovery was relied upon by Johnson in filing her claim, there was
no question at the time of the summary judgment hearing that Johnson was
relying upon the CWDS, as was necessary according to the factual situation in
this case. Thus, the trial court appropriately determined that the cause of
action necessarily was proceeding under the CWDS.
Because this cause of action was appropriately proceeding under the
CWDS, we must now determine whether the personal representative of an estate may
maintain a cause of action under the CWDS. The CWDS states that
an action against the person whose wrongful act or omission caused the injury
or death of the child may be maintained by:
(1) the father and mother jointly, or either of them by naming the
other parent as a codefendant to answer as to his or her interest;
(2) in case of divorce or dissolution of marriage, the person to whom
custody of the child was awarded; and
(3) a guardian, for the injury or death of a protected person.
I.C. § 34-23-2-1.
The statute further provides that in the event that the person to whom
custody of the child was awarded passes away, a personal representative shall be
appointed to maintain the action. I.C. § 34-23-2-1(c).
Comparing the WDS and the CWDS, we see that the legislature has made
different choices regarding who may pursue an action for wrongful death under the
respective statutes. When an action is brought under the WDS, it must
be brought by the personal representative of the decedent. When an action
is brought under the CWDS, it must be brought by the decedents parents,
by the parent who has custody of the child following a divorce or
dissolution of marriage, or the guardian of the child. The personal representative
of the decedents estate may not maintain the cause of action except upon
the death of the person to whom custody of the child was awarded.
No other result may be obtained according to the language employed by
our legislature.
In this case, both of Jasons parents were alive at the time of
his death, though they were not married to each other. The record
is not clear as to which parent was awarded custody following their divorce,
but Jason spent time living with each parent. Because the evidence established
that both parents were alive at the time of Jasons deathassuring that the
custodial parent was alive at that timethe personal representative of Jasons estate could
not maintain the action. Therefore, the trial courts conclusion that Johnson could
not maintain the action as the personal representative of the estate was proper.
Nonetheless, Johnson requested of the trial court that in the event that it
was determined that she could not pursue a claim under the CWDS as
personal representative, that she be allowed to amend the pleading so that she
and Jasons father be included as parties in their individual capacities. In
Hosler, this court addressed a similar argument in the context of the WDS.
There, the ex-wife of a decedent filed a wrongful death claim for
her minor son, as his next friend, against Caterpillar for the death of
the childs father. This court noted that it is a condition precedent
to prosecuting a claim under the WDS that it be brought by a
personal representative within two years of the date of death. Hosler, 710
N.E.2d at 196-97. In order to comply with this requirement, the ex-wife
attempted to amend the pleading to include herself as personal representative of her
ex-husbands estate. However, she did not seek the amendment until after the
two-year period for initiation of the cause of action by a personal representative
had passed. This court agreed that the trial court was correct in
determining that the condition precedent for the initiation of a claimfiling by a
personal representative within two years of the deathhad not been met and therefore
the claim could not survive. Id. at 197.
The Hosler court also determined that the ex-wife could not rely upon Indiana
Trial Rule 15 to support her assertion that she be allowed to amend
the complaint and include herself as personal representative. Id. First, an
amendment to a complaint pursuant to T.R. 15 does not alter a partys
legal status. Id. at 198. Moreover, the amendment of the complaint
would not have related back to the original filing of the claim because
the ex-wife was not a qualified plaintiff for a wrongful death action until
she became the personal representative. Id.
The Hosler court also determined, based upon this courts decision in General Motors
Corp. v. Arnett, 418 N.E.2d 546 (Ind. Ct. App. 1981), that the complaint
could not be amended pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 17. 710 N.E.2d
at 196. In Arnett, we concluded that T.R. 17 was not controlling
as to whether the claimant could maintain a cause of action under the
WDS because she did not have the capacity to serve as personal representative
of her husbands estate until after the two-year period for initiating the action
had passed.
See footnote 418 N.E.2d at 548-49. Rather, we noted that substantive
law controlled over the procedural liberality contained in Trial Rule 17.
Id.
at 549.
In this case, the trial court found, and Parkview asserts, that based upon
our decisions in Arnett and Hosler, Johnson may not amend the complaint to
include herself and Jasons father in their individual capacities. However, the facts
of this case are distinguishable from those of Arnett and Hosler. In
both of those cases, the claimant did not become the personal representative of
the estate until after the two-year time period for initiation of the claim
by the personal representative had passed. Johnson, on the other hand, was
at all times the mother of Jason and qualified to maintain the action
against Parkview.
See footnote Consequently, the substantive law did not prohibit the initiation of
the claim by Johnson at the time that she originally filed the cause
of action. Moreover, because Johnson was the mother of Jason at the
time she initiated the cause of action, the prohibitions on amending the complaint
present in
Arnett and Hosler are not present here. In both Arnett
and Hosler, we found that the complaint could not be amended because the
claimant did not have the appropriate legal status when the two-year period for
initiating the claim had passed and amending the claim could not change the
legal status of the claimant. Because Johnson was Jasons mother at all
times, amending the complaint does not change her legal status. Rather, it
changes only the designation of her legal statuswith which she was appropriately endowed
at the time she initiated the actionas stated upon the complaint.
See footnote Such
amendment is within the scope of T.R. 15 and T.R. 17, and according
to T.R. 15, the amendment relates back to the date of the original
pleading.See footnote Consequently, the trial court should have allowed Johnson to amend the
complaint as she requested.
One final argument presented by Johnson is that even if she could not
proceed under the CWDS that she be allowed to proceed under the Medical
Malpractice Act. This contention has merit as our Supreme Court has held
that an action for death resulting from a health care provider is not
exclusively within the ambit of the WDS, but may properly be brought under
the Medical Malpractice Act.
Miller v. Terre Haute Regional Hosp., 603 N.E.2d
861, 864 (Ind. 1992). Indeed, in Goleski v. Fritz, 768 N.E.2d 889
(Ind. 2002), our Supreme Court determined that a representative of a decedent could
pursue a claim under the Medical Malpractice Act even though she could not
maintain an action under the WDS.
However, the theory that recovery was available under the Medical Malpractice Act regardless
of the existence of a claim under the CWDS or the WDS was
not before the trial court. We have found nothing in the appendix
or transcript which indicates that this argument was presented to the trial court
during the summary judgment proceedings. Rather, the sole theory of recovery was
that Johnson could seek damages through the CWDS.
A party generally waives appellate review of an issue or argument unless that
party presented that issue or argument before the trial court. GKC Indiana
Theaters, Inc., v. Elk Retail Investors, LLC, 764 N.E.2d 647, 652 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2002). However, that principle is not without limits. As explained
by this court in Bielat v. Folta:
The rule that parties will be held to trial court theories by the
appellate tribunal does not mean that no new position may be taken, or
that new arguments may not be adduced; all that it means is that
substantive questions independent in character and not within the issues or not presented
to the trial court shall not be first made upon appeal. Questions
within the issues and before the trial court are before the appellate court,
and new arguments and authorities may with strict propriety be brought forward.
141 Ind.App. 452, 454, 229 N.E.2d 474, 475 (1967).
Here, the trial court never had the opportunity to determine whether a cause
of action existed under the Medical Malpractice Act separate from the WDS or
the CWDS because Johnson never made that claim in opposing the motion for
summary judgment. Instead, she placed her entire ability to recover upon whether
she had properly pursued a claim under the CWDS. Consequently, we may
not review this new theory of recovery for the first time in this
appeal.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed and the matter is remanded
for further proceedings.
FRIEDLANDER, J., and RILEY, J., concur.