Ewers v. Saunders County

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of discovery-related motions and grant of summary judgment in a wrongful death medical malpractice action arising from an inmate’s death from a pulmonary embolism. The court held that the plaintiff did not establish the foundational requirements for deeming requests for admission admitted and that the expert evidence failed to establish proximate causation between the alleged breach of the standard of care and the death.

Holdings

1. A party seeking to enforce admissions allegedly resulting from an opponent's failure to respond must establish service of the requests, the failure to answer or object, and must offer the requests as evidence. Because Ewers failed to provide the necessary foundation and did not comply with the district court's ordered format for presenting discovery disputes, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to deem the requests admitted.
2. The district court did not abuse its discretion by declining to impose discovery sanctions or dismiss appellees' answers.
3. Summary judgment for appellees was proper because Ewers presented no expert testimony establishing that any breach of the standard of care by Reeves or Scherling proximately caused or contributed to Ellis' fatal pulmonary embolism.
4. Evidence describing Ellis' pain and suffering did not establish that Reeves' conduct proximately caused those injuries.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court abused its discretion by declining to deem Ewers' requests for admission admitted and by declining to impose discovery sanctions or dismiss appellees' answers.
2. Whether summary judgment was proper because Ewers lacked expert testimony establishing that appellees' alleged breach of the medical standard of care proximately caused Ellis' fatal pulmonary embolism or related injuries.
3. Whether evidence of Ellis' pain and suffering established that Reeves' conduct was a proximate cause of those damages.

Disposition

affirmed