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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantnegligencetrialaffidavitpleamotionsummary judgmentduty of caremotion for summary judgment

plaintiffdefendantdepositionaffidavitpleamotionsummary judgmentduty of caremotion for summary judgment

Related Cases

Weigold v. Patel, 81 Conn.App. 347, 840 A.2d 19

Facts

The plaintiff, Kerry D. Weigold, administrator of the estate of his deceased wife, Frances Weigold, brought a negligence action against psychiatrist Jayantkumar C. Patel and psychologist Lynne E. Weixel after Frances was killed in a collision caused by their patient, who had fallen asleep while driving. The patient had a history of psychiatric illness and was prescribed medication that caused sleep disturbances. Despite knowing the risks associated with her medication, the patient continued to drive, leading to the fatal accident.

The plaintiff first brought a wrongful death action against the patient, a registered nurse. During her deposition, the patient revealed that she has a history of psychiatric illness and was being treated by the defendants.

Issue

Whether a psychiatrist and psychologist have a duty to warn their patient not to operate a motor vehicle after ingesting prescribed medication.

The plaintiff's first claim is that the court improperly concluded that the defendants did not owe his decedent a duty of care to warn the patient not to operate a motor vehicle on the highway.

Rule

A motion for summary judgment shall be granted if the pleadings, affidavits, and any other proof submitted demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

A motion for summary judgment shall be granted if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by determining that the defendants did not owe a duty of care to the decedent because there was no physician-patient relationship between the defendants and the decedent. The court found that the patient was aware of her impaired ability to drive and had previously questioned her psychologist about her driving safety. Therefore, the court concluded that the defendants' failure to warn the patient was not the proximate cause of the decedent's death.

The court ultimately concluded, however, that because there was no physician-patient relationship between the defendants and the decedent, they did not owe her a duty of care.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the trial court's decision, concluding that the defendants had no duty to warn the patient not to operate her motor vehicle, and thus, the summary judgment in favor of the defendants was proper.

The judgment is affirmed.

Who won?

Defendants (Jayantkumar C. Patel and Lynne E. Weixel) prevailed because the court found they did not owe a duty of care to the decedent, as the patient was aware of her impaired driving ability.

The court reasoned that the decedent was not a member of an identifiable class of victims at risk due to the patient's impaired ability to operate a motor vehicle because the class defined by the plaintiff was too broad to be identifiable.

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