Miller v. Kapcala

41 Pa. D. & C.4th 129, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 173
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Monroe County
DecidedJanuary 29, 1999
Docketno. 3185 Civil 1998
StatusPublished

This text of 41 Pa. D. & C.4th 129 (Miller v. Kapcala) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Monroe County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Kapcala, 41 Pa. D. & C.4th 129, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 173 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

WALLACH MILLER, J.,

Glen and Ruth Miller filed medical malpractice actions against Jan Kapcala D.O., Pocono Medical Center, Charles McCrae M.D. and McCrae Medical Associates, alleging negligent medical care Mr. Miller received after sustaining injuries in an automobile accident with a car driven by additional defendant Frank M. Kluk. Defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that a release signed by the plaintiffs with the additional defendant precludes any action against them. All agreed that summary judgment should be entered in favor of Mr. Kluk.

BACKGROUND

Glen Miller sustained injuries to his foot in a motor vehicle accident on May 29, 1996. The driver of the other vehicle involved was additional defendant Kluk. Mr. Miller was taken to Pocono Medical Center where he was treated in the emergency room by Dr. Kapcala. Upon release from the hospital, he was advised to see a doctor in his home area of Berks County. Surgery was performed on plaintiff’s right foot by Dr. McCrae and the McCrae Medical Associates.

Plaintiffs instituted a claim against Mr. Kluk. Plaintiff then settled that matter and signed a general release [131]*131on October 6, 1996. During this time, plaintiff was under the care of Dr. McCrae and McCrae Medical Associates.

Sometime in July of 1997, plaintiff sought a reevaluation of his right foot but discovered Dr. McCrae was no longer practicing medicine. Plaintiff then saw Dr. Scott Nord of Berks Orthopedic Associates for the reevaluation. After this examination, plaintiff alleges for the first time that the treatment rendered to him previously gives rise to a potential cause of action for medical malpractice. A complaint for medical malpractice was filed on May 13, 1998.

DISCUSSION

It is well settled that an entry of summary judgment is only properly granted in those cases where the right to such judgment is clear and there are no material facts at issue. Marks v. Tasman, 527 Pa. 132, 589 A.2d 205 (1991); Musser v. Vilsmeier Auction Co., 522 Pa. 367, 562 A.2d 279 (1989). All doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party. Thompson Coal Co. v. Pike Coal Co., 488 Pa. 198, 412 A.2d 466 (1979).

The defendants request this court to enter summary judgment arguing that the release signed between the plaintiffs and Mr. Kluk also releases defendants from the malpractice claims made against them. The release in pertinent part reads:

“[We] release, and forever discharge Frank M. Kluk, Allstate Insurance Company and any other person, partnership, firm, or corporation ... from any and all claims, . . . and causes of actions arising from any occurrence, up to the present time, . . . that occurred on or about May 29, 1996 . . . .”

[132]*132The plaintiffs counter that argument by alleging that the malpractice claim is not barred by the release because the claim itself did not accrue until after the release was signed.

Our analysis begins with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision, Buttermore v. Aliquippa Hospital, 522 Pa. 325, 561 A.2d 733 (1989). There, plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident on December 3, 1981 and was taken to Aliquippa Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Plaintiff subsequently signed a release with the other driver on November 14, 1983, which included any future claims against “any and all other persons.” Id. at 329, 561 A.2d at 734. Two weeks after the release was executed, plaintiff filed a malpractice claim against the hospital for negligent treatment rendered for the injuries sustained from the accident. The court relied on the ordinary meaning of the document’s language and held the release discharged the claim. Id.

A malpractice claim was also barred by a release executed in Dublin by Dublin v. Shuster, 410 Pa. Super. 1, 598 A.2d 1296 (1991). There, plaintiff was involved in a car accident and was diagnosed with a fractured femur and a minor neck injury. As a result of negligent treatment by the defendants, a spinal fusion was performed. When a malpractice action was filed three months after the release was signed, plaintiff contended that the malpractice claim was a “separate and distinct cause of action” not precluded by the release. Confining the inquiry to the release language, the court rejected that argument and held that the subsequent injury to plaintiff was directly or indirectly the result of the underlying accident. Id.

In Vaughn v. Didizian, 436 Pa. Super. 436, 648 A.2d 38 (1994), our Superior Court reached a different result. [133]*133Beth Vaughn sustained injuries when she was involved in auto accident on August 12, 1983, and signed a release three months later on November 23, 1983. She then had surgery on August 1, 1984 for spinal injuries she sustained from the accident. A malpractice claim was later filed, and Dr. Didizian countered with a summary judgment motion pointing to the release.

The Superior Court relying on Henry Shenk Co. v. Erie, 352 Pa. 481, 43 A.2d 99 (1945), held that releases are to be strictly construed so as to not bar the enforcement of claims that have not accrued at the date of signing. Id. at 487, 43 A.2d at 40. Since the release was signed almost seven months before plaintiff sought treatment for her spinal injuries, the negligent treatment had not accrued at the date of the signing of the release. Therefore, the release did not bar the cause of action. Id.

The United States District Court case, Youngren v. Presque Isle Orthopedic Group, 876 F. Supp. 76 (W.D. Pa. 1995), expanded Vaughn by incorporating the discovery rule. Youngren sustained injuries from an auto accident on November 14, 1988 and underwent back surgery on July 17,1989. A general release was executed over one year later on August 30, 1990 with the other driver. Youngren was involved in a second auto accident in October of 1992, and, as a result, she sought treatment for her back. Pursuant to an examination, she learned that the surgery on her back in relation to the first accident had been performed on the wrong side. Despite the release, a malpractice action was filed.

The district court denied summary judgment, reasoning that the malpractice claim was not barred by the release because that action had not accrued when the release was executed. Id. at 80. The court applied the “discovery rule” which says a cause of action does [134]*134not accrue until plaintiff knows or reasonably should have known that she has been injured and the injury has been caused by another party. A. McD. v. Rosen, 423 Pa. Super. 304, 308, 621 A.2d 128, 130 (1993).

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Related

Smith v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
621 A.2d 1030 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1993)
A. McD. v. Rosen
621 A.2d 128 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1993)
Vaughn v. Didizian
648 A.2d 38 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Youngren v. Presque Isle Orthopedic Group, Inc.
876 F. Supp. 76 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1995)
DUBLIN BY DUBLIN v. Shuster
598 A.2d 1296 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Thompson Coal Co. v. Pike Coal Co.
412 A.2d 466 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Musser v. Vilsmeier Auction Co., Inc.
562 A.2d 279 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Holmes v. Lado
602 A.2d 1389 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Marks v. Tasman
589 A.2d 205 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Buttermore v. Aliquippa Hospital
561 A.2d 733 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Holmes v. Lankenau Hospital
627 A.2d 763 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1993)
Porterfield v. Trustees of Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
657 A.2d 1293 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Henry Shenk Co. v. Erie
43 A.2d 99 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1945)

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Bluebook (online)
41 Pa. D. & C.4th 129, 1999 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-kapcala-pactcomplmonroe-1999.