Appeals court rules doctor's estate can sue hospital, attending physician

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A lawsuit accusing Sunnyside Community Hospital of negligence in the emergency treatment of one of its own physicians who later died may go to trial after all.

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday sent back a wrongful death lawsuit to Yakima County Superior Court, overruling a judge who dismissed the case nearly two years ago.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2006, Dr. Terri Grant, an emergency room physician at Sunnyside Community Hospital, was negligent in treating Dr. Sandra Wilson's existing brain condition with migraine headache medicine, worsening the problem and causing her death.

Wilson, an internist at the hospital, died at the age of 35.

Her father, Dr. David Wilson of Missouri, sued Grant and the hospital as the personal representative of his daughter's estate for an unspecified amount to compensate for the loss of her wages, payment of medical bills and pain and suffering.

Attorneys for the hospital and Grant argued that the estate was not entitled to any recovery because Sandra Wilson wasn't survived by any beneficiaries recognized by law, such as a spouse, children or other dependent relatives.

Hospital attorneys also claimed that the hospital is not liable because Grant was a contracted physician, not an employee on the payroll.

In a 2009 summary judgment, Superior Court Judge James Lust agreed with the hospital and Grant.

Tuesday's opinion reverses part of that summary judgment, and says that a jury should decide if the estate deserves any damages for economic loss, such as forgone wages and payment of medical bills. The appellate opinion agreed with Lust, however, that David Wilson is not eligible for pain and suffering.

The opinion does not rule on the negligence claim.

David Wilson's attorney said the summary judgment, and therefore the reversal, on the question of an estate claiming damages in medical malpractice cases is unusual.

"At least in my experience, summary judgment ... is pretty rare," said Mark Kamitomo of Spokane, who specializes in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Attorneys for the hospital and Grant said summary judgments and reversals happen frequently.

"There's nothing unusual about what happened here," said Jerry Aiken of Yakima, who represents the hospital.

Grant and hospital officials have 30 days to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Neither of them have decided, their attorneys said.

If they don't, Kamitomo said a Yakima County Superior Court judge will start the process of setting a trial date.

The two sides could still settle out of court.

Kamitomo declined to discuss the details of the negligence claim, saying, "The way our client was treated was improper."

According to the court records, on April 2, 2006, three days before her death, Sandra Wilson checked into the hospital with nausea, vertigo and speech problems. Grant gave her Imitrex, a migraine medication, based on Wilson's history with migraines. Wilson's headache worsened and Grant administered more Imitrex.

Then Wilson started having seizures and her oxygen levels dropped. She was transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, where doctors concluded the Imitrex complicated an existing narrowing of her basilar, a major artery at the base of her brain.

* Ross Courtney can be reached a 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.