Estate of Gray v. Baldi

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Paul Gray’s surviving spouse, Brenna, and daughter, O.D.G., filed suit against Dr. Daniel Baldi and several Iowa healthcare providers, alleging that Defendants negligently treated Paul during his struggle with substance abuse. Paul’s estate asserted a claim for wrongful death, Brenna asserted a loss of spousal consortium, and O.D.G., who was born several months after Paul’s death, asserted a loss of parental consortium. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, concluding that Plaintiffs brought suit after the applicable statutes of limitations expired. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) erred in granting summary judgment on O.D.G.’s parental consortium claim, as a child conceived but not yet born at the time of their parent’s death can bring a parental consortium claim after the child is born; but (2) did not err in granting summary judgment on the wrongful-death and spousal consortiums claims, as, even if the discovery rule can extend the time to file wrongful-death claims under Iowa Code 614.1(9)(a), the wrongful-death and spousal consortium claims were untimely under the circumstances of this case. Remanded. View "Estate of Gray v. Baldi" on Justia Law