On February 16, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. the Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case The Estate of Paul Dedrick Gray, et al. v. Daniel J. Baldi, et al. during a special evening session open to the public in the Supreme Court courtroom.
The case stems from litigation involving Dr. Daniel Baldi. Grefe & Sidney attorneys Guy Cook and Adam Zenor represented Dr. Baldi in the criminal case against him alleging 9 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Cook and Zenor obtained an acquittal on all criminal charges against Dr. Baldi.
The case pending in front of the Iowa Supreme Court was brought by the Estate of Paul Dedrick Gray and Brenna Gray, individually and on behalf of a minor child, ODG. Paul Dedrick Gray was a patient of Dr. Baldi’s who died from a drug overdose. At the time of his death in 2010, Brenna Gray was pregnant with ODG. Plaintiffs filed their action on February 14, 2014 alleging negligence against Dr. Baldi and loss of consortium. Dr. Baldi and the healthcare provider defendants asserted a statute of limitations defense and moved for summary judgment. The district court determined that the death triggered the two-year statute of limitations and the word “minor” in Iowa Code section 614.1(9)(b) (providing that a malpractice suit brought on behalf of a minor under age 8 must be brought before the minor’s 10th birthday) referred to a living person and not a fetus.
The Iowa Supreme Court will determine whether the district court properly dismissed the Plaintiffs’ Petition on this basis or whether Plaintiffs should be allowed to proceed with their lawsuit.