Otani v. Broudy
Washington Court of Appeals
114 Wash. App. 545, 59 P.3d 126 (2002)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Dr. David Broudy (defendant) punctured Yaeko Otani’s (plaintiff) aorta during pacemaker-implantation surgery, causing uncontrollable bleeding. Otani was unconscious when the injury occurred and died several hours later without ever regaining consciousness. Otani was 81 years old, active, and social. If the pacemaker had been successfully implanted, Otani would have been expected to live an additional eight years. After Otani’s death, the personal representative of Otani’s estate (the estate) (plaintiff) brought a survival action against Broudy and sought damages for Otani’s loss of enjoyment of life (the loss-of-enjoyment damages) for the remaining eight years of her expected lifespan. The trial court granted the requested loss-of-enjoyment damages, holding that loss-of-enjoyment damages were recoverable in the estate’s survival action because, had Otani been severely injured rather than killed, Otani could have brought an action for loss-of-enjoyment damages herself. Broudy appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Becker, C.J.)
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