Gray v. University of Colorado Hospital Authority

2012 COA 113, 284 P.3d 191, 2012 WL 2581038, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1074
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 5, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA1041
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 2012 COA 113 (Gray v. University of Colorado Hospital Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gray v. University of Colorado Hospital Authority, 2012 COA 113, 284 P.3d 191, 2012 WL 2581038, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1074 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge BERNARD.

1 This appeal poses two questions that arise from a trial court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit that named a public entity, the University of Colorado Hospital and the University of Colorado Hospital Authority (collectively the hospital), and some of its employees as defendants,. First, is a public entity immune from liability for tort claims based on allegations that the entity or the entity's employees acted in a willful and wanton manner? In this case, we conclude the hospital is immune, and, therefore, we affirm the trial court's decision to dismiss the case against it.

{2 Second, is a public employee likewise immune if a plaintiff alleges that he or she acted in a willful and wanton manner? In this case, we conclude that the trial court erred when it dismissed the case against one of the public employees, Mark Spitz, M.D. (the doctor), and we remand the case for further proceedings concerning that employee. However, we conclude that the trial court properly dismissed the case against the rest of the public employees, and, as a result, we affirm those decisions.

T3 This case arose out of the death of Charles Gray, who died while he was a patient at the hospital. His family, including Jimmie Louise Gray, acting individually and as the patient's personal representative, Teresa Leeper, David Gray, and Tim Gray, brought a medical malpractice suit against the hospital and some of its employees.

14 The defendants in this lawsuit are the hospital; the doctor; Archana Shrestha, M.D.; Christy Barbee-Young, M.D.; Mollie Startzer, RN.; Beverly Solas-Fajardo, C.N.A.; Jason Booe; Jacqueline Funk; and John Doe and Jane Doe. The defendants moved to dismiss the case against all defendants under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA). The trial court granted the motion.

15 The family appeals this decision. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings. In our analysis affirming a part of the trial court's order, we rely on somewhat different grounds than the trial court employed. See W.O. Brisben Companies, Inc. v. Krystkowiak, 66 P.3d 133, 138 (Colo.App.2002)(an appellate court will affirm a trial court's decision if that decision reached the correct result), aff'd on other grounds, 90 P.3d 859 (Colo.2004).

I. Background

16 The complaint contained the following factual allegations. All defendants accepted these facts as true for the purposes of their motion to dismiss.

117 The patient suffered from epilepsy. In an effort to determine whether a form of surgery would afford him relief from his condition, he checked into the epilepsy monitoring unit at the hospital in October 2007. The purpose of this admission was to monitor the nature and extent of his seizures as he was weaned from the anti-seizure medication that had been prescribed for him.

T°8 Part of the monitoring process required the patient to stay several nights in the hospital Concerned for his welfare, members of his family asked whether they should stay with the patient to assist in monitoring his seizures. Someone associated with the hospital assured the patient and his family that he would be constantly monitored by hospital personnel around the clock.

T9 The hospital, through a representative, later admitted that this assurance was contrary to fact. He also conceded that hospital policy allowed patients being monitored to gauge the effects of their seizures to be [195]*195unattended and unobserved by monitoring personnel for extended periods of time.

' 10 On the fifth night of the patient's stay, the monitoring technician left him unattended for about one hour in order to "troubleshoot" another patient's electrodes. During this time, the patient suffered a seizure and stopped breathing. Hospital staff was unable to revive him.

{11 The patient's family sued defendants in federal district court. However, the federal court dismissed their suit, concluding that they had "failed to allege a cognizable [clon-stitutional violation sufficient to support a § 1983 claim." The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state-law claims, and dismissed them without prejudice.

12 The patient's family then sued defendants in state court. The first amended complaint, which forms the basis of this appeal, alleged a series of claims against defendants: negligence; respondeat superior; negligent training and supervision; lack of informed consent; negligent misrepresentation; fraudulent misrepresentation; breach of fiduciary duty; reckless and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress; and willful and wanton conduct.

" 13 Defendants moved to dismiss the case, alleging that the defendants were immune under the CGIA. The hospital also requested permission to tender $150,000 into the court registry as the maximum recovery possible under the CGIA. Neither party requested a Trinity hearing, named for our supreme court's decision in Trinity Broadcasting of Denver, Inc. v. City of Westminster, 848 P.2d 916 (Colo.1993).

1 14 The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, and it permitted the hospital to deposit $150,000 in the court's registry. The court then declared the claim moot.

II Analysis

A. General Principles

T15 The sovereign immunity of public entities is immunity from suit. City of Lakewood v. Brace, 919 P.2d 231, 245 (Colo.1996). Whether a public entity and public employees are immune from suit is an issue of subject matter jurisdiction that is resolved under C.R.C.P. 12(b)(1). Trinity, 848 P.2d at 924-25. The plaintiff bears the burden of showing that immunity has been waived. Capra v. Tucker, 857 P.2d 1846, 1348 (Colo.App.1993).

116 The issue whether the trial court has subject matter jurisdiction under the CGIA is a matter of statutory interpretation, to be decided under C.R.C.P. 12(b)(1). Herrera v. City & Cnty. of Denver, 221 P.3d 423, 425 (Colo.App.2009). We review the trial court's interpretation of the CGIA de novo. Moran v. Standard Ins. Co., 187 P.3d 1162, 1164-65 (Colo.App.2008).

117 Our goal in interpreting the CGIA is to give effect to the General Assembly's intent. Middleton v. Hartman, 45 P.3d 721, 730 (Colo.2002). To do so, we look first to the statute's plain language. Herrera, 221 P.3d at 425. The CGIA's terms should be construed in harmony with one another to give full effect to the General Assembly's intent. Fogg v. Macaluso, 892 P.2d 271, 274 (Colo.1995).

118 The CGIA provides immunity to all public entities from suit for all actions that lie in tort, or that could lie in tort, unless an enumerated exception applies. §§ 24-10-105, -106, -110, C.R.S.2011; Brescioni v. Haragan, 968 P.2d 158, 155 (Colo.App.1998)(the CGIA provides public entities immunity from suit).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 COA 113, 284 P.3d 191, 2012 WL 2581038, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gray-v-university-of-colorado-hospital-authority-coloctapp-2012.