Roland v. Bernstein
Arizona Court of Appeals
828 P.2d 1237 (1991)
- Written by Ross Sewell, JD
Facts
Patricia Roland (plaintiff) brought a medical-malpractice suit against neurosurgeon Ronald Bernstein (defendant), Bernstein’s professional corporation, Desert Neurosurgery (defendant), anesthesiologist Joseph Marcinkowski (defendant), and Tucson General Hospital (Tucson General) (defendant). Tucson General and Marcinkowski settled for $700,000 each. Bernstein and Desert Neurosurgery proceeded to trial. The jury awarded Roland $1,965,000 in damages and apportioned fault as 47 percent for Bernstein, 28 percent for Marcinkowski, and 25 percent for Tucson General. The trial court held that under Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S) § 12-2504, Bernstein’s amount to pay should be reduced by the amount of the preexisting settlements and entered a judgment for $565,000 instead of $923,550 (47 percent of $1,965,000). Roland appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Livermore, C.J.)
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