Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal; June 7, 2000; Louisiana; State Appellate Court
In the wrongful death case of Richard and Nancy Rajnowski against St. Patrick Hospital and Dr. Floyd Guidry, the court addressed exceptions of res judicata and prescription raised by the defendants. The Rajnowskis initially filed a medical malpractice suit in 1986 regarding their son, Ricky, which was dismissed due to the expiration of the limitation period. This dismissal was affirmed by the appellate court and the Louisiana Supreme Court. Ricky passed away on February 27, 1998, prompting the Rajnowskis to file a wrongful death suit on February 23, 1999, against the same defendants, alleging that their negligence during prenatal care and delivery caused Ricky's death.
In response, the defendants filed exceptions of prematurity, prescription, and res judicata. The trial court granted the exception of prematurity but denied those of res judicata and prescription. The defendants sought supervisory review of these rulings. Dr. Guidry and St. Paul contended that the previous dismissal extinguished any subsequent claims, citing Louisiana law regarding the conclusiveness of final judgments. However, the Rajnowskis argued that a wrongful death claim arises only upon the victim's death, making res judicata inapplicable. The court sided with the Rajnowskis, affirming the trial court's denial of the res judicata exception.
A wrongful death action arises only upon the victim's death, as established in Taylor v. Giddens, 618 So.2d 834, 840 (La. 1993). The Rajnowskis' wrongful death claim did not exist at the time the medical malpractice judgment became final in 1990, which led to the proper denial of the res judicata exception by the trial court. Regarding the exception of prescription, the court rejected the appellants' argument that La. R.S. 9:5628 governs the wrongful death action, clarifying that this statute pertains to medical malpractice actions and not wrongful death claims. The provisions of LSA-R.S. 9:5628 apply only to survival actions arising from malpractice, and wrongful death actions stand independently of any viable malpractice claim. The prescriptive period for wrongful death actions begins with the victim's date of death, not with the discovery of malpractice. Consequently, as LSA-R.S. 9:5628 does not dictate the prescriptive period for these actions, they fall under the one-year liberative period for delictual actions per LSA-C.C. art. 3492, available to designated beneficiaries in LSA-C.C. art. 2315.2. Thus, the Rajnowskis filed their wrongful death action timely, leading to the proper denial of the prescription exception. The court also confirmed the denial of the res judicata exception regarding Dr. Guidry and St. Paul. The case was consolidated with a companion case, and both sides acknowledged the application of res judicata law effective after January 1, 1991, despite the original judgment being finalized in 1990. The court noted that even under the new law, the prior judgment does not have a preclusive effect.
