Tanuz v. Carlberg

921 P.2d 309, 122 N.M. 113
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 30, 1996
Docket16798
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 921 P.2d 309 (Tanuz v. Carlberg) 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
Tanuz v. Carlberg, 921 P.2d 309, 122 N.M. 113 (N.M. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

APODACA, Chief Judge.

1.Plaintiff appeals the trial court’s dismissal of her action entered pursuant to SCRA 1986, 1-041(B) (Repl.1992). The dismissal was filed in a bench trial at the close of Plaintiffs case-in-chief. In her complaint against Defendant, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Plaintiff sought damages based on her claims of dental malpractice and strict liability. Plaintiff alleged injuries arising out of surgical insertion by Defendant of interpositional implants (implants) in Plaintiffs temporomandibular joints (TMJs). On appeal, Plaintiff contends that Defendant should be held strictly hable as a suppler of the defective implants. Alternatively, Plaintiff contends that Defendant was negligent for failing to contact her after her surgery as the defective nature of the manufactured implants became known. As a matter of pubic polcy, we hold that Defendant cannot be held strictly hable for implanting a product later shown to be defective. We also hold that substantial evidence supported the trial court’s determination that Defendant did not breach his duty to warn Plaintiff under Plaintiffs neglgence theory. We therefore affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

2. Defendant practiced surgery in Santa Fe. He first saw Plaintiff as a patient in March 1983 after a referral by Dr. Keith Jameson, a dentist. Plaintiff complained of TMJ pain and was diagnosed as suffering from bilateral derangement of the TMJ. In September 1983, Defendant surgically implanted TMJ implants manufactured by Vitek, Inc. The implants were manufactured using Proplast, a teflon-based substance patented by Vitek. At the time, the Vitek implants were being touted as having a greater success rate than other treatments. Defendant advised Plaintiff to return for routine folow-up care and to return if she experienced pain or discomfort.

3. On April 27,1984, Plaintiff returned to Defendant’s office, complaining of pain in her TMJs. Defendant’s notes from that visit indicate that Plaintiff had failed to make her appointments after the previous visit. He referred her to Dr. Jameson to have her splint replaced. Plaintiff did not see Dr. Jameson after the referral and failed to continue follow-up treatment with Defendant, contrary to his advice. In 1987, Plaintiff began experiencing TMJ pain and self-treated this pain with over-the-counter medication. In November 1989, Plaintiff visited an Albuquerque dentist and was referred to Dr. Steven J. Traub, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practicing in Albuquerque. Plaintiff informed Dr. Traub that she had seen Defendant for TMJ surgery but failed to tell him that she had implants. Dr. Traub did not notice the implants on the x-ray he had ordered. He diagnosed her as suffering from degenerative joint disease and prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medication.

4. In September 1991, Plaintiff was again referred to Dr. Traub when she complained of a grinding sound and a popping episode that had occurred recently. Dr. Traub once again failed to identify Plaintiffs implants on another x-ray, but he did observe that a comparison with the 1989 x-ray showed there had not been advancement of her degenerative disease. He again prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medication. On both of these visits, Plaintiff was instructed to return for follow-up care but failed to do so. In October 1998, Plaintiff contacted Defendant’s office after watching a television show that discussed problems with Vitek implants. Defendant surgically removed Plaintiffs implants in February 1994.

5. Plaintiff filed her complaint against Defendant in June 1994. In addition to her strict liability claim, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant was negligent in failing to warn her of the dangers posed by the Vitek implants. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant should have contacted her before any official warnings from the manufacturer about the product had arisen, based solely on problems he himself had experienced with his own patients and a growing awareness in the medical community that Vitek implants posed dangers to patients. Plaintiff also alleged that, when Vitek and the Food and Drug Administration alerts appeared in 1990 and 1991, Defendant made inadequate attempts to locate her. At trial, Plaintiff relied primarily on Defendant’s own testimony and the testimony of Dr. Traub, who stated that, in his opinion, Defendant breached the standard of care. We recite this testimony in detail in our discussion of Plaintiffs negligence claim.

6. After the close of Plaintiffs case-in-chief, the trial court ruled against Plaintiffs strict liability claim and found that Defendant did not breach the recognized standard of care. The trial court also determined that Plaintiffs own negligence in falling to return for follow-up care with Defendant or another physician constituted an independent intervening cause of any injuries she may have sustained. Additionally, the trial court held that Dr. Traub’s negligence in caring for Plaintiff likewise constituted an independent intervening cause of any injuries Plaintiff may have sustained after her 1989 visit to his office.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

7. On a motion to dismiss made at the close of a plaintiffs case-in-chief in a nonjury trial, “the trial court weighs the evidence and gives to it such weight as the court believes it deserves.” See Worthey v. Sedillo Title Guar., Inc., 85 N.M. 389, 341, 512 P.2d 667, 669 (1973). “On appeal, review of such a dismissal is limited to whether the trial court’s findings are supported by substantial evidence.” Balboa Constr. Co. v. Golden, 97 N.M. 299, 301, 639 P.2d 586, 588 (Ct.App.1981). “The judgment of the trial court will not be disturbed on appeal if the findings of fact entered by the court are supported by substantial evidence, are not clearly erroneous, and are sufficient to support the judgment.” Camino Real Mobile Home Park Partnership v. Wolfe, 119 N.M. 436, 441, 891 P.2d 1190, 1195 (1995). The trial court, sitting as fact finder, weighs the evidence, determines credibility of testimony, and resolves factual conflicts. See Mascarenas v. Jaramillo, 111 N.M. 410, 412, 806 P.2d 59, 61 (1991).

III. DISCUSSION

8. Initially, we reject Defendant’s contention that Plaintiff waived her challenge to the trial court’s findings because the brief-in-chief fails to identify with particularity the challenged findings and fails to summarize all of the evidence bearing on these findings, contrary to SCRA 1986, 12-213(A)(3)(Repl.1992). The trial court entered extensive findings. Most of these findings simply provided a chronology of events. Although Plaintiffs brief does not specify by number all of the findings she is attacking, it is clear that she is challenging the ultimate findings of fact regarding strict liability and negligence, and her brief adequately summarizes the evidence relevant to these findings. See Thomas v. City of Santa Fe, 112 N.M. 456, 459, 816 P.2d 525, 528 (Ct.App.), cert.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Garcia
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2023
State v. Saucedo
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
Perkins v. Kennemer
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
Payne v. United States
D. New Mexico, 2021
Vanderbilt Mortgage v. Abercrombie
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2012
Unifund CCR Partners v. Barnes
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2011
Sanders v. DJO, LLC
728 F. Supp. 2d 1200 (D. New Mexico, 2010)
J Patrick Murphy v. C Kincaid
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2010
Bryant v. United States
126 F. Supp. 2d 1227 (D. Arizona, 2000)
Harris v. Raymond
715 N.E.2d 388 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
921 P.2d 309, 122 N.M. 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tanuz-v-carlberg-nmctapp-1996.