Lujan Ex Rel. Lujan v. Healthsouth Rehabilitation Corp.

884 P.2d 847, 118 N.M. 691
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 8, 1994
Docket15279
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 884 P.2d 847 (Lujan Ex Rel. Lujan v. Healthsouth Rehabilitation Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lujan Ex Rel. Lujan v. Healthsouth Rehabilitation Corp., 884 P.2d 847, 118 N.M. 691 (N.M. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

PICKARD, Judge.

Plaintiff brought an action in her individual and representative capacities against Defendants, claiming they committed medical malpractice in treating the injuries caused to her son by a tortfeasor. The issue in this case is whether Plaintiffs release of the tortfeasor, and of all persons and corporations who together with the tortfeasor “may be jointly or severally hable” to Plaintiff for claims “arising out of’ the accident with the tortfeasor, acts as a bar to Plaintiffs malpractice claim against Defendants. We hold that Plaintiffs claim is barred, and we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants.

In January 1990, Martin Lujan was involved in a vehicular accident with Nancy Jaramillo. Martin suffered serious injuries in the accident, including an open fracture of his left femur. In February 1990, Martin was transferred to Defendant Healthsouth’s facility for rehabilitation. Defendant Mercedes Chavez worked at the facility. Plaintiff alleges that in March 1990, Chavez improperly maneuvered Martin’s left leg while changing the leg’s dressings, thereby refracturing it at the original femoral fracture site.

Plaintiff, Martin’s mother, then filed a personal injury lawsuit against Jaramillo. Defendants were not named in this suit. In February 1991, Plaintiff settled with Jaramillo. As part of the settlement, Plaintiff signed a release of all claims as part of the settlement. Among other things, the release provided the following:

IN CONSIDERATION of the sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars, ($100,000) the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged by IRENE LUJAN, individually and as the mother, guardian, and next best friend of her minor son[] MARTIN LUJAN.... [hereinafter called “Releasors”], Releasor individually and for their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns does hereby forever release and discharge NANCY JARAMILLO, and her agents, servants, employees, representatives, insurance companies, attorneys, successors and assigns, and also any and all other persons, associates, or corporations, whether herein named or referred to or not, anid who together with the above-named parties may be jointly or severally hable to the Releasors, or anyone else acting on behalf of or through the derivative rights of the Releasors, [hereinafter “Releasee”] of and from any and all claims, causes of action, rights suits, covenants, contracts, agreements, judgments and demands of whatsoever kind or nature that Releasors have or may have against Releasee for damages to Releasors’ person or property arising out of an accident on or about January 27, 1990, at the intersection of Blake and Tapia, SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In March 1993, Plaintiff filed an action against Defendants alleging that the March 1990 incident involving Martin’s leg constituted medical malpractice. Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that Jaramillo “may be jointly or severally hable” with Defendants for Martin’s injuries, and as such the release also apphed to them. The district court granted the motion, and Plaintiff appeals.

We beheve our recent decision in Perea v. Snyder, 117 N.M. 774, 877 P.2d 580 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 118 N.M. 90, 879 P.2d 91 (1994), controls this case. In Perea, a plaintiff was injured by a truck that was driven by one joint tortfeasor and owned by another joint tortfeasor. The plaintiff signed a release in which the driver tortfeasor and “every other person, firm, or corporation” were released from liability. The plaintiff then sued the owner tortfeasor, and the owner, relying on the general release clause in the plaintiffs release, moved for summary judgment. Id. at 775-76, 877 P.2d at 581-82. We first held that the owner, as movant, had the initial burden of showing an absence of material fact or that it was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law, and that the owner had met this burden by attaching to its motion a copy of the release which showed on its face a general release of all persons, firms, or corporations. Id. at 777, 877 P.2d at 583. We then held that once the owner had made this prima facie showing, the burden shifted to the plaintiff to show either a genuine factual issue or that the owner was not entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Id.

Defendants here attached to their motion a copy of the Jaramillo release, which on its face purports to release all persons and corporations “who may be jointly or severally liable” with Jaramillo for damages to Plaintiff arising out of the January 1990 accident. Whether this satisfies Defendants’ initial burden raises two questions: 1) “may” Defendants have been severally liable with Jaramillo; and 2) did the damages Plaintiff seeks from Defendants arise out of the accident? We believe that the answer to both of these questions is in the affirmative.

As to the first question, Defendants correctly point out that prior to the adoption of comparative fault in this state, an original tortfeasor was held liable for the negligence of subsequent tortfeasors such as physicians. For example, in Vaca v. Whitaker, 86 N.M. 79, 83, 519 P.2d 315, 319 (Ct.App.1974), we followed the rule that when a judgment against an original tortfeasor is satisfied, the plaintiff is barred from then recovering from a physician for subsequent malpractice. In so doing, we noted that the reason behind this rule is that “the original wrongdoer is liable for negligence of the physician in treating the injured person.” Id. Further, even after the adoption of comparative fault, we assumed that an original tortfeasor “may be liable for the additional harm caused the victim by a physician negligently treating the victim if negligent treatment is the foreseeable result of the original injury[.]” Martinez v. First Nat’l Bank, 107 N.M. 268, 271, 755 P.2d 606, 609 (Ct.App.1987), certs. dismissed, 107 N.M. 308, 756 P.2d 1203 (1988). Although we recognize that foreseeability of injury is usually a fact question, see Calkins v. Cox Estates, 110 N.M. 59, 61, 792 P.2d 36, 38 (1990), the language in this release — that anyone with whom Jaramillo “may” be jointly or severally liable is released from liability— does not require a factual or legal certainty. Defendants’ alleged negligent treatment of Martin’s injured leg occurred during rehabilitation for the injury caused by the accident. A fact finder might reasonably have found that the treatment was a foreseeable result of that accident. Consequently, Jaramillo “may” have been severally liable with Defendants for the additional harm done to Martin’s leg; therefore, Defendants come within the language of the release as a matter of law.

As to the second question, we again point out that the leg that was allegedly refractured due to Defendants’ malpractice was the same leg that had been broken in the January 1990 accident.

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Related

Lujan Ex Rel. Lujan v. Healthsouth Rehabilitation Corp.
902 P.2d 1025 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1995)
Estate of Lola Kimble v. Oc Kimble
871 P.2d 22 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
884 P.2d 847, 118 N.M. 691, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lujan-ex-rel-lujan-v-healthsouth-rehabilitation-corp-nmctapp-1994.