Gilbertson

Plaintiffs Jerrie Gilbertson and Donald Gilbertson, husband and wife, brought this action for damages against defendant M. F. Osman, M. D., and Indio Community Hospital. Jerrie Gilbertson has alleged a cause of action for medical malpractice and Donald Gilbertson a cause of action for loss of consortium. Defendants brought a motion for summary judgment on statute of limitations grounds. The motion was granted and the court also purported to dismiss on its own motion for failure to prosecute. Plaintiffs have appealed from the resulting judgments.

The issues on appeal are whether the court erred in dismissing the action for failure to prosecute, whether the granting of summary judgment was warranted as a sanction for plaintiffs’ failure to submit a statement of disputed and undisputed facts, and whether the record supports the granting of summary judgment on statute of limitations grounds.

Facts

Jerrie Gilbertson was admitted to Indio Community Hospital under the care of Dr. Osman on April 12, 1979. On the following day Dr. Osman performed a hysterectomy on Jerrie Gilbertson. A week after the operation, on April 20, 1979, Jerrie Gilbertson noted vaginal leaking of urine…