Facts: After being permanently disabled by a stroke, petitioner Linda Mohr filed a medical malpractice action against respondent Dale Grantham. Mohr asserted that the negligent care that she had received both prior to and subsequent to her stroke substantially diminished her chances of recovery. The Superior Court for Benton County granted summary judgment for Grantham, ruling that Mohr had failed to show “but for” causation and that a cause of action for a lost chance of a better outcome does not exist in the medical malpractice context where the ultimate harm is something short of death. Mohr appealed this decision to the Washington Court of Appeals, which certified the case to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Is there a cause of action for a lost chance of a better outcome in the medical malpractice context where the ultimate harm is something short of death?
If so, did the trial court err in granting summary judgment for Grantham?
Conclusion: Justice Owens’ opinion for the Court reversed the trial court, concluding that the lost chance doctrine applies to medical malpractice cases where the ultimate harm is something short of death. Thus, the Court also held that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for Grantham insofar as Mohr presented a prima facie case that Grantham breached the recognized standard of care for treating a patient with Mohr’s symptoms and that this breach caused Mohr a diminished chance of a better outcome.
Docket No. 84712-6 (from Benton Case No. 07-2-02040-1)
Petitioner: Linda Mohr
(Counsel: Cheryl Rani Guttenbe Adamson)
Respondent: Dale Grantham
(Counsel: Christopher Holmes Anderson, Mary H. Spillane, Donna Maria Moniz, and Jerome K. Aiken)
Briefs:
Argument: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 1:30pm
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Prevailing Party: Linda Mohr (Petitioner)
Vote: 6-3
Citation: Pending
Court: Madsen2 Court (2011-)
Madsen
(Dissent)
Johnson
Alexander
Chambers
Owens
(Majority)
Fairhurst
Johnson
(Dissent)
Stephens
Wiggins
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.