Steve Cvitanovic, Partner, and Robert Thompson, Associate, both of Haight Brown & Bonesteel’s San Francisco office, prevailed on summary judgment in a case involving alleged medical malpractice and negligent hiring of a physician.
Plaintiff underwent Lasik vision correction surgery and claimed the physician negligently performed the procedure and that the operator of the vision center negligently employed the physician. In representing the operator of the vision center, Messrs. Cvitanovic and Thompson argued on summary judgment that that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations. Plaintiff countered that, by substituting the center operator as a DOE defendant, the amendment related back to the original timely filing date. The court disagreed, finding that plaintiff's claim against the center operator was time-barred because plaintiff was on notice of potential harm shortly after his surgery. The court further found that plaintiff was not ignorant of the identity of the center operator at the time the original complaint was filed and, therefore, plaintiff could not rely on the DOE amendment to make his claim timely.
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