Hunt v. Regents of the University of Minnesota

460 N.W.2d 28, 1990 Minn. LEXIS 274, 1990 WL 127225
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 31, 1990
DocketC0-89-186
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 460 N.W.2d 28 (Hunt v. Regents of the University of Minnesota) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hunt v. Regents of the University of Minnesota, 460 N.W.2d 28, 1990 Minn. LEXIS 274, 1990 WL 127225 (Mich. 1990).

Opinions

KEITH, Justice.

Patrick F. Hunt commenced this medical malpractice action and, after a 6-week trial, the jury returned its special verdict of no negligence. The trial court denied Hunt’s post-trial motion for a new trial and he appealed. The court of appeals remanded for a new trial, concluding that reversible error occurred as a result of three instances of an abuse of judicial discretion: (1) the allowance to defendants of two additional peremptory challenges, (2) the refusal to permit inquiry of prospective jurors as to their relationship to named insurance companies and (3) and the limitation of cross-examination of and the provision of jury instructions with regard to the testimony of Dr. Dennis Mollman. Hunt v. Regents of the Univ. of Minnesota, 446 N.W.2d 400 (Minn.App.1989). Defendants Regents of the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Hospitals, Shelley N. Chou, M.D., and Aizik Wolf, M.D., have appealed, claiming that the trial court’s actions did not constitute reversible error. Defendant Wolf also separately asserts in the alternative that, even if there was reversible error, the trial court’s denial of a new trial as to him should be affirmed. We reverse the court of appeals.

Patrick Hunt was born on December 31, 1945 with athetoid cerebral palsy characterized by abnormal neck movements. In spite of his condition, he became self-sufficient, employed as a public accountant. Until December 1982, his general health was good and he was able to drive an automobile and enjoy recreational activities. By late 1982, however, the abnormal neck movements had produced an arthritis in the cervical area of his spine. Compression of parts of his spinal cord resulted, causing pain in his right shoulder, arm and little and ring fingers.

On January 5, 1983, surgeons from the University of Minnesota Hospitals performed a cervical laminectomy to relieve the pressure. Defendants Chou, chief of neurosurgery at the University, and Wolf, a resident neurosurgeon who had been in the program for 6 months, successfully performed the laminectomy.

On January 6, 1983, Wolf wrote a postoperative order stating, “per patient encourage neck exercises and getting up.” Chou, his supervising surgeon, approved the order. On January 7, 1983, at approximately 8:00 p.m., nurses assisted Hunt from his bed to a bedside chair where he sat unattended for approximately 30 minutes. At the time, Hunt was in pain, was [31]*31heavily medicated and had asked to be left alone. After about 10 minutes, Hunt’s head began to slowly slump forward until his chin rested on his neck. He later testified that he was unable to summon help when his head fell forward and that, when the nurses attempted to get him . back to bed, he informed the nursing staff that his legs were numb and that he had nothing to stand on.

At approximately 11:00 p.m. that night, Dr. Dennis Mollman took a blood sample from Hunt’s foot because an elevated temperature indicated possible infection. He had difficulty obtaining the sample and had to stick the foot at least three times with the needle. Hunt’s foot moved each time. Based on his observations of the foot movements, Mollman later testified that Hunt was not paralyzed at that time. The physician described the movement both in his deposition and at trial. In the deposition, Mollman stated that Hunt “pulled his foot away” and “withdrew his foot.” While at trial, he also described a leg extension movement and a side-to-side foot movement.

Also during that same night of January 7-8, nursing personnel performed neurological checks which indicated that Hunt was able to move his limbs; Hunt’s expert later questioned the accuracy of the resulting notations made on the neuro flow sheets. Three respiratory therapists treated Hunt for developing pneumonia by waking him, turning him and directing him to cough and deep breathe, a procedure which gave them an opportunity to discover whether he had developed a problem with his extremities; none was noted. Other nurses took his temperature during the night and made no notation of problems.

In the late morning on January 8, Hunt’s parents visited and discovered that he was paralyzed. Exploratory surgery was performed immediately, but the precise cause of the injury was not determined. Hunt asserts that his quadriplegia occurred as the result of being moved to and sitting unattended in the chair on the evening of January 7. The defendants claim that he suffered a stroke sometime during the morning of January 8. Hunt remains a quadriplegic, no longer able to care for himself.

1. Defendants first challenge the court of appeals’ determination that the trial court committed reversible error when it allowed four peremptory challenges, two to the hospital and one each to Drs. Chou and Wolf. In this regard, they first suggest that the issue of peremptory challenges was not properly preserved for appellate review because Hunt failed to make a timely record of any objection and failed to supplement the record as required by Minn. R.Civ.App.P. 110.03.1

The burden of providing a record on appeal rests with Hunt, the party challenging the propriety, in the first instance, of additional peremptory challenges. See Custom Farm Services v. Collins, 306 Minn. 571, 572, 238 N.W.2d 608, 609 (1976). Where no complete record is available, we have mandated compliance with Rule 110.-03 to supplement the record to provide for meaningful and effective appellate review. See Soukup v. City of Sleepy Eye, 281 Minn. 144, 146-47, 161 N.W.2d 36, 37 (1968); accord State v. Evans, 343 N.W.2d 709 (Minn.App.1984). While we reaffirm that requirement, we find sufficient good cause to suspend that rule under the circumstances here. Minn.R.Civ.App.P. 102.

Defendants do not deny that an objection was made, but instead emphasize that a timely record was not made. For appellate purposes, Hunt inserted into a joint appendix an affidavit made by counsel on April [32]*3229, 1989, stating that an objection to the number of peremptories granted defendants was made at both pretrial conferences. The affidavit supplements the record but does not comply with Rule 110.-03. No service of the affidavit was made on defendants for submission of objections or proposed amendments, nor was the statement submitted to the trial court for approval. Nevertheless, no evidentiary material is here lacking. That four rather than two peremptory challenges were allowed appears in the record. We are persuaded, accordingly, to suspend the requirements of Rule 110.03 to consider the substantive argument regarding the number of peremptory challenges allowed. We do caution counsel that a proper method of preserving the issue is for the objecting party to place the objection on the record at the time made, detailing the reasons supporting the claim that an allowance of additional challenges is inappropriate.

The number of peremptory challenges permitted the parties is regulated by Minn.Stat. § 546.10 (1988). By operation of that statute, the trial court may allow up to two additional challenges to multiple defendants if it is persuaded that those defendants have adverse interests and that those interests require “due protection.” Appellate courts will examine that exercise of the trial court’s discretion to determine whether an abuse thereof has occurred. Electric Serv.

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Hunt v. Regents of the University of Minnesota
460 N.W.2d 28 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1990)

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Bluebook (online)
460 N.W.2d 28, 1990 Minn. LEXIS 274, 1990 WL 127225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunt-v-regents-of-the-university-of-minnesota-minn-1990.