Hartman v. Oh

65 Pa. D. & C.4th 1, 2004 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 189
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County
DecidedJanuary 2, 2004
Docketno. 2002-01703
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 65 Pa. D. & C.4th 1 (Hartman v. Oh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hartman v. Oh, 65 Pa. D. & C.4th 1, 2004 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 189 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004).

Opinion

CHARLES, J.,

In this medical malpractice case, defendants seek to erase a large portion of plaintiffs’ claims via the procedural vehicle of a motion for partial summary judgment. Defendants assert that there is insufficient support for the following claims:

(1) Negligent infliction of emotional distress;
(2) Intentional infliction of emotional distress;
(3) Intentional misrepresentation;
(4) Negligent misrepresentation;
(5) Punitive damages;
(6) Damages for an unborn child; and
(7) Filial loss of consortium.

Predictably, plaintiffs disagree and assert that all of their causes of action should be permitted to proceed. After reciting the factual background of this matter, we will address each of the disputed areas seriatim.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This obstetrical malpractice claim was originally filed in Lancaster County in September of 1996. Extensive discovery was conducted under the supervision of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. In March of 2002, defendant filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Briefs, counter-briefs, supplemental briefs and a multitude of depositions were appended to the record. However, Lancaster County did not rule on the motion before it transferred venue to us in December of 2002.

The parties listed the summary judgment motion for argument before us in November of 2003. We conducted oral argument on November 21, 2003. This dispute is now before us for disposition.

[4]*4H. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

According to the allegations of the complaint, plaintiff Melissa Hartman learned in October of 1994 that she was pregnant. Defendants provided Mrs. Hartman with obstetric care between December 13, 1994 and June 2, 1995. During this time, Mrs. Hartman expressed concern to defendants about the low level of her fetus’ activity as compared with her prior pregnancies. According to the complaint, the defendants assured Mrs. Hartman that her fetus was “fine.”

The complaint alleges that defendants first identified problems with Mrs. Hartman’s pregnancy during May of 1995. During May, defendants reportedly learned that the fetus suffered from an abnormally low “fundal height” and a barely detectable fetal heartbeat. Despite these problems, plaintiffs allege that defendants ordered no diagnostic tests or therapeutic measures.

During a medical appointment on June 1, 1995, Mrs. Hartman was told by defendants that they were unable to find any fetal heartbeat. She presented herself to the Ephrata Hospital on the same date. According to the complaint: “Upon leaving defendants’ office, Melissa Hartman went to Ephrata Community Hospital... where a sonogram was conducted, revealing fetal demise.” One day later, Dr. Oh delivered a stillborn baby girl, who the Hartmans named Faith Lynn Hartman.

Plaintiffs assert that Faith Lynn suffered from “intrauterine growth retardation which should have been detected by the defendants.” (Plaintiffs’ brief at page 3.) Plaintiffs further assert that had the intrauterine growth retardation been detected, Faith could have been delivered prior to her death.

[5]*5EL LEGAL STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment may be granted only in those cases where the record clearly demonstrates that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Dean v. PennDOT, 561 Pa. 503, 507, 751 A.2d 1130, 1132 (2000), citing P.J.S. v. Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, 555 Pa. 149, 153, 723 A.2d 174, 176 (1999). The record must be viewed in the light most favorable to the opposing party, and all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party. Id.

IV. LEGAL ANALYSIS

A. Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

In order to fully understand this tort, one must recall its evolution. Historically, no plaintiff could recover damages for emotional distress unless that plaintiff also suffered physical impact during an accident. See Potere v. City of Philadelphia, 380 Pa. 581, 589, 112 A.2d 100, 104 (1955). This so-called “physical impact” rule was relaxed in Niederman v. Brodsky, 436 Pa. 401, 261 A.2d 84 (1970). There, a plaintiff who was within the “zone of danger” created by an accident could also recover damages for emotional harm resulting from injuries to a close relative. This “zone of danger” rule was further amplified by our Supreme Court in the seminal case of Sinn v. Burd, 486 Pa. 146, 404 A.2d 672 (1979). Sinn adopted a tripartite test that had been first articulated by the California Supreme Court in Dillon v. Legg, 441 P.2d [6]*6912 (Cal. 1968). That case required an analysis of three factors in order to determine recoverability of damages for emotional injury:

“(1) Whether plaintiff was located near the scene of the accident as contrasted with one who was a distance away from it.

“(2) Whether the shock resulted from a direct emotional impact upon plaintiff from the sensory and contemporaneous observation of the accident, as contrasted with learning of the accident from others after its occurrence.

“(3) Whether plaintiff and the victim were closely related, as contrasted with an absence of any relationship or the presence of only a distant relationship.” Sinn v. Burd, supra at 170-71, 672 A.2d at 683.

With respect to the legal tests outlined above, there is very little dispute between the parties. However, there is a significant disagreement with respect to defendants’ position that there is an additional element that must be established in order to prove negligent infliction of emotional distress. Defendants claim that a plaintiff’s emotional distress must result in physical injury to a plaintiff. Plaintiffs disagree and argue that recovery for emotional distress should be permitted “without the presence of physical injury in instances where a parent witnessed negligently-caused injuries to a child.” (Plaintiffs’ brief at page 9.) On this issue, we disagree with plaintiffs.

The key case regarding this question is Abadie v. Riddle Memorial Hospital, 404 Pa. Super. 8, 589 A.2d 1143 (1991). Abadie was also decided in a medical malpractice context. In Abadie, the Superior Court specifically stated: “[T]he negligent actor is not liable when his con[7]*7duct results in the emotional disturbance alone, without [bodily harm].”1 Id. at 11, 589 A.2d at 1145. Moreover, Abadie

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Bluebook (online)
65 Pa. D. & C.4th 1, 2004 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartman-v-oh-pactcompllebano-2004.